Lynx Season 5
by Krypton X
Summary: Lynx AU Version of Smallville Season Five
1. Arrival

Lana looked away as the ship opened up and unleashed a blinding light. She looked past the light and saw two figures appear in front of the ship. Fearing their power, she stood up and started to limp away. She stopped and gasped as a tall man suddenly appeared in front of her. She turned back and jumped when a woman appeared as well.

Lana swallowed, "What do you want?"

The woman appraised her, "We must find Kal-El. He can help us with our task."

Lana glared and replied, "Kal-El will never cooperate with you."

The man smirked, "You know where he is."

Lana shook her head no. The man started toward her but stopped when they heard a siren. Several police cars and a helicopter rushed toward the crater impact. Lana took advantage of the distraction to move away from the two aliens.

The woman glared up at the helicopter and a burst of red shot toward it. The helicopter was hit and exploded. Lana was thrown forward from the impact. She covered her head as debris rained down around her. She then got up and got behind a patch of tall grass.

She watched as the cops opened fire on the invaders. She watched as they took every bullet fired at them. They simply looked over the field and waited. The cops stopped shooting and stared in shock. The two invaders narrowed their eyes and beams of heat lanced out and swept across the field and destroyed everything in their path. Lana watched in horror as the police ran and dove for some cover. Lana knew there was very little they could do to protect themselves. The pair ceased their attack and looked around.

The man spoke, "Where is the girl?"

"She is irrelevant. We must find Kal-EL." The woman turned away and Lana noted a tattoo on her lower back. It was a Z.

Chloe blinked as the light shifted around her and she found herself staring at blackness. "Where am I?"

**You are the Lynx**.

Chloe looked upward and questioned, "Who wants to know?"

**You need to learn respect, Chloe Sullivan**.

"I'll respect you when you stop pushing Clark around."

**Kal-El must not compromise his destiny. You will help him reach his full potential**.

She growled, "I don't need to help him to do that! He will reach his potential with or without me."

**You are so like his mother. I knew you would eventually find him**.

Chloe narrowed her eyes in confusion, "What do you mean find him?"

**You were destined to meet. You are aware of the journal medallion that allowed Kal-El to see my memories in 1961.**

Chloe nodded.

**After I put it in the cave and left Smallville, I met two mutants: one could heal rapidly and the other was extremely strong and nearly invulnerable. I took samples from them and combined them to make one mutation. I found a suitable carrier in a family in Metropolis. When Kal-El reached a certain point, the gene would be activated and he would search you out.**

Chloe nodded in understanding, "My family carried the gene. I was the one you wanted to be with Clark." She frowned, "How did you know I would meet him?"

**I did not know. Nor did I know the gene would be prematurely activated**.

"The mental inversion that nearly killed the mutants. It turned the gene on, didn't it?"

**Correct. It seems the events will be beneficial nonetheless. You have immensely helped Kal-El over the last few months. You are his equal and are his betrothed.**

Her eyes widened and stammered, "Wha…What?!"

**For humans, you would be 'engaged'. That is your destiny**.

She exhaled, "I'm not saying I don't want to marry him, but we are not ready." She stiffened as the light intensified. A tattoo of the house of El appeared on her lower back as she appeared back in the caves. She growled softly and stormed from the caves. She gasped as she tripped and fell. She looked back and saw Lex lying unconscious. She scoffed and stood up. She considered waking him up but didn't want to deal with him. She shrugged and muttered, "He'll live,' as she walked away not noticing her phone had fell from her pocket.

Clark and narrowed his eyes trying to catch every detail. After a few seconds they felt the ground beneath him start to shake. After it stopped, the ground around the diamond impact shifted and totally collapsed inward. He watched in awe as huge pillars of ice shot up from the opening and intersected and slammed together to form an enormous structure composed of solid ice. Clark walked up to the structure.

Once inside, he surveyed his surroundings. He noticed the structure was composed of crystals instead of ice as he first guessed. Clark looked around the structure in amazement. He saw a formation of crystals and approached it. He was 5 feet away when a single crystal floated out and hung in the air. He hesitated and then took it.

A loud voice filled the cavern, **Kal-El, you have come far. One journey has ended. A new journey is about to begin. Welcome home, my son.**

Clark shouts aloud, "I thought Krypton was destroyed!"

**It was, but here in your Fortress of Solitude, the geography of our planet has been replicated for your training.**

"I know there's a lot I can learn from you, but I have to get home. That's where I'm needed."

**The meteor shower is only the precursor. A dark force from Krypton has been awakened, Kal-El, and its sights are set on Earth.**

Hesitant, Clark asked, "What do you want me to do?" In response, a blue light encircles Clark.

**You have much to learn about your world. You must train with diligence. Only then can you save this planet.**

Inside the circle, Clark is seeing images and kryptonian symbols. He shook his head and moved forward out of the light. He asks, "Where is Chloe? What did you do with her?"

**She is unharmed. Continue your training.**

He shook his head, "If you sent her back, I'm going with her. She wouldn't leave me, and I won't leave her."

**You continue to let your human emotions guide you Kal-El. This is your biggest weakness**.

"I can come back. The training can be delayed." He waited for an answer.

**Very well, Kal-El. On one condition: You must return before the yellow sun has set.**

"I'll be back. You have my word."

**Do not fail, Kal-El. The consequences will be grave. **Clark nodded and speed out of the fortress. The lights dimmed to a soft glow.

Lex groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. He grunted in effort as he climbed to his feet. He called out, "Nice move, Chloe. Way to prove your point. Now I really believe you weren't in on this."

He looked around and noticed her phone on the cave floor. He knelt next to it and picked it up. He smirked and looked up at the cave chamber. He walked inside and looked at the stone altar. He noticed the key and carefully picked it up. He stared at it in wonder and anger.

He heard a sound behind him and he turned around. He saw the two kryptonians and hides the key in one hand. "It's okay, officers; everything's under control here."

He saw the woman stare at his hand and she commented, "He has the key." She extended her hand and the key flew from Lex' hand.

He stared at his hand in shock. He questioned them, "Who are you?"

"Are you Kal-El?"

Lex ground his teeth and shot back, "Who wants to know?"

The man walked to him and wrapped his fingers around Lex' throat. Lex groaned in pain as fingers cut into his neck, drawing blood.

The woman strolled around Lex and noted the blood. "It is not him. Kal-El would not bleed."

The man tossed Lex at the wall, knocking the wind from him. He watched them in shock as they sped away.

Lois drove up to the Kent farm and gasped. She climbed from the car and stared open mouthed at the house. They were several large craters in the driveway and the house is completely obliterated.

She swallowed and ran up to the house. Shelby ran up to her and barked happily. She felt relieved despite herself. "Hey, Shelby." She opened the door and exclaimed, "Oh, my god." She saw some movement and watched. She saw Jonathan tearing through debris and called out, "Mr. Kent."

He looked over, "Lois."

She came forward and called out, "Mrs. Kent! Clark!"

"Clark wasn't in here. He's alright."

She looked through the rubble and tried to find Martha. After a minute, she saw a hand buried under the mess. She swallowed and called, "Here. She's here." Jonathan ran over and they pulled a cabinet off her. They knelt down and Lois checked her pulse. "Her pulse is very weak and she's barely breathing."

Jonathan choked slightly and gently cradled her head. "You're going to be okay." He looked at Lois, "Help me?" She nods and helps him pick Martha up.

Lana limped along slowly down the hill and came to the road. She exhaled and started across the street. Halfway across, she heard screeching brakes. She glanced over not fully aware of the car. It stopped two inches from her leg. She looked ahead and started to walk again.

Lex stepped from the car and went to Lana. "Lana, are you okay?"

She kept walking and mumbled, "We have to get away. They'll kill us if they find us."

Lex frowned in confusion. "Lana, you need to get off that leg. Let me get you to the hospital." He walked to her and gently grabbed her.

She panicked and started struggling against him. "Let go of me! Let me go!"

He turned her toward him and told her, "Lana, its okay! You're safe now."

She calmed down and whispered in fear, "There are a man and a woman, right behind us. They came out of…"

Lex frowned and asked, "They came out of what?"

Lana swallowed, "A spaceship."

Lex moved some hair out her eyes and asked, "Where?"

She answered, "Landers Field."

Lex looked serious, "Lana, after what you've been through, it perfectly natural for your mind to play tricks on you, trust me."

Lana gets angry, and pushes Lex away. "No Lex you trust me. I know what I what saw." She started limping to Lex's car. "We need to leave now."

"Lana…" Lana got halfway to the car and fell to the street unconscious. Lex frowned and picked her up. He put her in the car and drove to the hospital.

Chloe walked into the parking lot of the Smallville medical center. She glanced around the parking lot and noticed her car in a stall. She sniffed and noted that Lois and the Kent's had recently come here. Worried, she went to a nurse and asked where they were. The nurse said room 356. She thanked her and jogged to the room.

Along the way, Chloe looked at the patients waiting to be admitted. She wasn't around for the first meteor shower, but had an idea it was even worse16 years ago. At that time, there had been no warning.

She turned a corner and saw Lois resting in a chair. "Lois, you're okay." Lois looked over and jumped to her feet. She rushed forward and enveloped Chloe in a fierce hug.

Lois spoke quickly, "After you left, I thought you got into trouble. I'm so glad you're okay. Did you get out with Clark?"

Chloe returned the hug and answered no. "I went to find Lana at the mansion and then Lex dragged me out to the caves for some reason. Are the Kent's okay? The nurse told me they were here."

Lois nodded to the room behind them. "Yeah, and Lex brought Lana in about an hour ago. She is down the hall in 330." Chloe frowned at that news but remained quiet. "I was going to check on the Kent's. Come on."

They entered the room. Chloe noticed Jonathan only had a few small bruises. Martha wasn't as fortunate. Her face was covered in cuts and her leg was in a cast. Chloe grimaced in sympathy. Lois spoke up, "Mrs. Kent, I have to say, you look a whole lot better without a china cabinet on your back."

Martha smiled at them and quietly replied, "Hi, girls. It's good to see you."

Jonathan praised, "Lois was quite a hero out there."

She replied, "You guys put a roof over my head. Least I could do was help out when it came crashing down." Chloe momentarily smiled.

After a second, she sniffed and frowned. She turned to the window. Suddenly there's an explosion and the windows are blown out. The hallway is in chaos. Chloe and Jonathan run out of the room to check out the situation. They come face to face with the Kryptonians. Worried, Chloe glanced at Jonathan. He acknowledged her and walked over to them. The male demanded, "Where is Kal-El?"

He played dumb and asked, "Who are you?"

The woman looked at them and commented, "You know where he is."

Jonathan denied, "I'm sorry, lady. I don't know what you're talking about." She raised an eyebrow and came at Jonathan. She grabbed his neck and lifted him off the floor. He gasped as his airflow was cut off.

Chloe moved forward but Lois stepped in, trying to help him. "Okay, everyone needs to calm down and count to ten. Put the nice man down." The female glances at Lois and then flings Jonathan to the other end of the hall. Lois glares and cautions, "Look, super freak, you wanna find your Kal-El buddy; you need to start working on your communication skills." The female picks her up and chokes her.

Chloe bit her lip nervously. She couldn't do anything to help without revealing herself. Just when she didn't think it could get even worse, it did. Lana suddenly showed up and spoke up, "I know where Kal-El is. He's hiding out at the Luthor mansion." Chloe sent an upset look at Lana which she ignored. Lana commented to the aliens, "Nice _green_ outfits." Chloe looked confused, and then silently praised Lana.

Chloe demanded, "I am coming with you. I want to know what is going on." The aliens both grabbed Lana and Chloe and dragged them away.

Lois choked out, "Hey, stop."

Clark sped into the farm and stopped in the damaged structure. He shouted desperately, "Mom! Dad!"

"Clark?" Clark turned to see Lex walking in. "Thank god you're alright."

"Where are my parents?"

Lex sighed, "They were taken to the medical center. Your mom has a concussion and a broken leg, but she'll make a full recovery."

"What about Lana?"

"She's at the hospital too." He turned to survey the damage, "It's Chloe I'm worried about."

Clark grew worried, "Why?"

"We were in the caves during the meteor shower. I was knocked out and when I woke up she was gone."

"She probably got out while you were out."

He looked over at Clark appraisingly, "Or she had some help to get out."

Clark scoffed, "You think I did? Lex, how could I…"

"Clark, before I passed out, I thought I saw an uncharted room in the cave. I could have sworn I saw in the middle of it."

Clark shook his head, "I wasn't near the caves."

"If you weren't with your parents during the shower, where have you been?"

"They wanted me to be safe so they had me leave from the graduation ceremony."

Lex grits his teeth, "Why am I getting the nagging feeling you aren't being honest?"

Clark shot back, "I have no idea."

"I'm starting to think lying is an unshakable habit for you, Clark."

Clark frowned and turned to leave, "I don't have to listen to this."

"Then be honest for once." Clark stopped and Lex walked to him. "If you're my friend, tell me the truth: Were you in the caves when the meteors hit?"

Clark looked him in the eye and replied evenly, "NO."

Lex looked at him for a moment and then turned to leave. Clark sighed as he left the house.

Lois paced around the waiting room talking with the general while she massaged her throat. "Look, I understand the army is extremely busy right now; but Mr. and Ms. Universe, they're killing people." She paused and sighed. "Okay." She hung up and turned to see Clark walk into the lobby.

"Lois."

"Clark." She ran to him and they hugged. "You okay?"

"Yeah, you?"

Lois cleared her throat and replied half-heartedly, "Yeah."

Clark started walking into the hospital, "Have you seen are my parents?"

She nodded, "They're going to be fine." She ran after him and cleared her throat. "We, uh, we have another problem, kind of a big problem, really. A couple tore through here with super powers and a really bad attitude."

Clark stopped and swallowed nervously, "What did they want?"

"Um, they were looking for some guy named Kal-El? Ever heard of him?"

Clark turned to her and asked, "Where did they go?"

"Chloe and Lana escorted them to the Luthor mansion."

The kryptonians shoved the two girls into the study. Chloe wished Lana was elsewhere; she wanted to deal with the two invaders with repercussions. Lana pointed to the vault and said, "Kal-El is in there." They walked toward the safe. Chloe inched toward them and got ready to push them inside the room. She swallowed nervously when the male turned to face her. He looked at her in contempt. The woman suddenly gasped in pain and collapsed to the floor. She managed to get away and choked out, "It's a trap. Get the door."

The male sped to the fallen door and lifted it toward the vault. He shut the room and the aliens glared at the two girls. "They can only lie."

The woman replied, "We should cure them of that."

The female sped at Lana and tossed her into a glass cabinet. Chloe glared at the male who grabbed her throat and applied pressure. Chloe didn't react but gripped the man's wrist. She held up her other hand and extended her thumb claw. She swiped at his arm and drew blood. He grunted and released her. He backed away in pain. She prepared to attack when she heard Clark come in. "Leave her alone."

The man glanced at him with disregard until Clark said, "I'm who you're looking for. I'm Kal-El."

The male turned from Chloe and confidently stared at Clark. "At last. We have been waiting for you."

Clark ignored him and questioned, "What do you want?"

The woman answered, "We are asking you to join us; to create utopia from this savage land."

Chloe stalked to them and growled, "This savage land is our home! We won't let you ruin our planet."

Clark calmed her and suggested, "Chloe, I will handle them. You should get Lana back to the hospital."

Chloe looked unsure and upset, but Clark gave her a firm look, "I'll be fine." She nodded and walked to Lana. She carefully picked her up and left the mansion.

Clark spoke to the aliens, "I saw what happened at the hospital. That isn't utopia, its chaos."

"The weak will be sacrificed for the strong."

Clark stood his ground, "Then you can sacrifice me. I will not let you hurt anyone else."

The woman answers, "If that is your decision, so be it, Kal-El."

She slides a bracelet off her wrist and throws it at Clark. He ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding being hit. He watches as the bracelet expands mid-air into a vortex. Clark stares at it for a few seconds in awe.

The Kryptonians use their heat vision on Clark, knocking him towards the vortex, which is attempting to suck him inside of it. Before he can get sucked in, Clark punches the floor, making a hole and anchoring himself with it.

The male tells him, "We can't destroy you, Kal-El, but we can lock you in a place where you can't stop us." Clark grunts as he begins to slip, losing his grip. The man turns and declares, "It is done."

Determined, Clark regains his grip and thrusts himself forward. He grabs the woman by the shoulder and tosses her into the vortex. He smirks at the man and his shocked look. He pushed at the man's chest and he joined the woman. Once they are inside, the vortex turns into a metallic rectangle. The two Kryptonians are inside looking angry and scared. It flies through the window and off into the distance. Clark watches it fly away into the sunset. He then realizes that the sun has set. Worried, he sees the key and grabs it. He turns and starts running. At the door, he stops in shock. He tries again and still nothing happens. He walks outside and realizes that he no longer has his powers.

Chloe sat in the waiting room waiting to hear about Lana and Lois. She sniffed and looked toward the doors. They opened and Clark walked in. She sighed in relief and ran toward him. Halfway there she slowed and looked at him curiously. She sniffed, and commented, "Clark, something isn't right. Your scent has changed." She gave a nervous laugh, "You smell human."

Clark swallowed and glanced around to be cautious. He whispered to her, "I don't have my abilities anymore."

She stared at him, and then laughed. "I'm sorry; I thought I heard you say your powers are gone." He looked at her seriously and she gaped at him. He nodded and she extended the kryptonite claws. She started crying when he didn't react. She shook her head, "No, no. You couldn't have lost your powers. You are meant for extraordinary things; you aren't meant to be normal."

He objected, "I was supposed to deal with the threat from Krypton. I did what Jor-El asked me to, and if this is the result, I am fine with it."

Chloe looked at him sadly, "Clark, from what you and your parents have told me, everything Jor-El has done to you has had negative consequences, and they are worse each time. I don't want to know how bad it could be this time."

Clark pulled her into a hug. "I know it's going to be hard to get used to this. But I will be there to help you and the X-Men in the future. Let's go check on Lana."

Chloe looked at him sadly and followed.

Lana glared at the paper she held. She had waked up and saw it on her table. An article concerning the Teague's strange deaths had been circled. A small note had been scribbled on the side: **You owe me. ****L.L**. She exhaled and closed the paper as the door opened. She smiled as Clark and Chloe walked into the room

Clark smiled at her. "Glad to see you're alright. How's your leg?"

The doctor says I should stay off it for about a week, but I should be able to walk again." She sighed, "Feels so familiar. Two years ago, I shut you out for the same thing."

Clark sighed, "You know I never wanted to see you get hurt. Somehow I always seemed to get you hurt."

"You don't need to explain. What you do is dangerous. You can't know if your friends would end up in the way. I think that is part of the reason you didn't tell me."

Clark swallowed, "I never thought you couldn't handle yourself. You are a very strong person, Lana. You could do fine without me." He exhaled, "And you will do fine without me protecting you."

Lana smiled, "You'll always be my protector, Clark." She glanced back at Chloe who had been simply staring at Clark the whole time. "Chloe, is there a newspaper on Clark's back?"

Chloe looked over confused, "What?"

"You have been staring at Clark like he's a breaking story. You okay?"

In response, Chloe held up her hand and extended the claw.

Lana became horrified, "Chloe, what are you doing?! Put that away!" She gasped as Clark made no reaction. "Wha...? What happened? You're immune now?!"

Clark shook his head as Chloe retracted the claw, "My powers are gone. I'm human."

Lana gaped in shock. "You can't be human. You need to be super so you can stop the ship."

Clark frowned, "What ship?" 

Lana sighed, "Where do you think the aliens came from? Something tells me they weren't the only dangers. The ship may be the bigger problem."

"When we have to deal with it, we have Kryptonite to destroy the ship."

Lana slumped her shoulders in guilt. "I could have destroyed the ship when I saw it. I saw some kryptonite nearby the site. I'm sorry."

Clark shook his head. "It's okay."

Lana glanced down at the paper and picked it up. She bit her lip and handed it to Clark. He opened it in confusion. He read the note and got a dark look. He assured her, "We will protect you, whatever it takes."

Chloe sighed, "On a more personal note, I have news for you, Clark."

He looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

She turned around and lifted the back of her shirt revealing the tattoo. "When did you get that?"

"The same time that you disappeared from the caves. From what I gather from Jor-El, it is the Kryptonian equivalent to an engagement ring."

Clark's eyes widened in surprise, "Jor-El told you we are engaged?"

"Betrothed is the word he used."

Lana smiled, "Congratulations, you two. Chloe, are you going to flip a coin to see whether I or Lois will be the maid of honor?"

"Don't make any announcements just yet." She sat down in the chair by the window. "We are not officially engaged right now. I love Clark, but marriage is just not in the plans right now. Don't worry though flyboy. I do plan on marrying you in the future."

Clark put on a mock fearful look, "I don't know if I should relieved or worried by that."

Lex stood in front of a video monitor. "Has there been any activity yet?" A technician shook his head and left the room. "Let me know if anything noteworthy happens." He turns and walks out of the room.

He goes by a closed door with two security guards on either side. Inside the door, the black ship sits on top of metal supports. A closer look reveals a leaking black substance. It is pooling under the ship. After a minute, the black liquid began to snake itself toward the door. It stopped about a feet away and crystals starting forming. The liquid formed itself into a man with light brown hair. The man gazed around the hanger and looked up to the ceiling. Without warning, the man shot upward and punched through the cement ceiling.


	2. Mortal

Chloe walked down the stairs and proceeded down the long hallway. She swallowed as she passed by several closed doors and recognized the names printed on them. All were confirmed or alleged meteor freaks. She walked into the office and greeted the attending doctor. "Good morning, Doctor. How are the patients doing this month?"

"They're…in a mental care facility. What else can I say?"

Chloe smiled and shrugged, "Not very much else." She indicated the door, "I passed by Randall and Summers on the way in. Gotta say I have some bad memories with those two."

"Yeah, I read the files. Don't take this the wrong way, but you had a bad time in high school, didn't you?"

She chuckled, "Yes, that is true. Somehow I managed to survive through my graduation."

He smiled, "We're glad you did. Without your request to Mr. McCoy, we wouldn't have gotten those new restraints for the more lethal mutants."

Chloe grew irritated at the remark but kept silent. "Well, what brings me to Belle Reeve today?"

He grew serious as he turned to the desk and picked up a personnel file. "We have been collecting these from the subject. We thought it was just a phase he was going through. But then an orderly noticed that the drawings were identical to the markings in the Kawatche Cave system."

Chloe flipped through the pictures and became unsettled, "How long has the subject been doing this?"

"For about two months."

Chloe bit her lip, "Does anyone else know about this?"

"Just Mr. Luthor's son." 

Chloe snapped her head up and stared at him. "Lionel Luthor drew these?!"

Williams nodded and frowned, "I thought I told you that."

She shook her head, "You neglected to mention that. Where is Lionel now?"

"Right this way." He opened a second door in the office and walked down a short hallway. They came into a room with a large display glass. Williams flipped a switch and lights came in an adjoining room. Lionel Luthor was kneeling in a corner scratching at the wall.

Chloe turned to Williams, "Can I speak to him in private? Just for a few minutes."

Williams reluctantly nodded and indicated a door on the left side. "In five minutes, I'll come back in to check on you."

Chloe nodded and walked into the cell. She approached Lionel and said, "Mr. Luthor?" He didn't respond. She thought for a moment. "Jor-El?"

He looked toward her but remained silent. She narrowed her eyes, "What are trying to tell us?"

Jor-El moved to the side and Chloe looked at the marking of a large Z. "What does this mean?"

He reached for the pictures and put one up for Chloe to see. The El symbol stood next to the Z.

Chloe frowned, "Some kind of partnership?"

He frowned and shook his head. She asked, "A struggle?" He nodded. "How is that possible; Clark doesn't have his powers?"

Jor-El softly said, "His mortal journey will end soon."

Chloe opened her mouth in shock and fear. She started to ask another question when Doctor Williams knocked on the window. She held up her hand for more time and asked, "How will his mortal journey end?"

Jor-El ignored her and walked to another wall. She tried to get his attention but he began drawing again.

Williams spoke up, "That's all you're get from him. He comes and goes."

Chloe sighed in disappointment. She walked from the room. She thought for a minute. "I would like him transferred to McCoy's private facility. I want him monitored directly."

Williams grew uncomfortable, "I don't think Mr. Luthor would appreciate that. He…"

Chloe faced him and looked him in the eye, "I know Alexander Luthor is an intimidating person, but I am not afraid of him." She pulled out a business card and handed it to him. "When he finds out about the transferal, you point him my way; I will take the heat. Okay?" He nodded and took the card. "A retrieval team will be by this afternoon to pick him up. Enjoy the afternoon."

Lana and Evan sat on the grass watching Clark and Jonathan help a large group of people lifting a barn wall. They got it up and Clark and two men ran forward and nailed in place.

Clark exhaled and walked to Lana and Evan. He sat down and wiped his forehead. "I never knew how hard that really was."

Evan scoffed, "Well, having super strength probably has something to do with that."

He nodded, "Well, I enjoy it more now. Before I could finish building an entire barn in less than 10 seconds. This way feels more fulfilling."

Lana asked, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Clark sighed and looked over as a VW bug drove up the hill. "It's exactly what I want." He walked down the hill.

Lana sighed in sadness. Evan looked over and cautioned, "I know you and Chloe are worried about him, but he has obviously made up his mind about not having his powers."

"I remember the previous times he lost his powers. He nearly died in both of them. If anything happens this time…"

"Well, he has his family and friends to watch his back. Plus, Chloe won't let him do anything that is even potentially hazardous."

Jonathan yelled up to them, "Hey, Evan! Could you run to the farm and pick up more nails?"

He nodded and stood up. Lana stood up also and smiled, "I'll go with you." He smiled back and they walked to the truck.

"Heading out when there's work to be done?"

Lana lost her happy expression and turned to face a smirking Lex. "We're going on a supply run."

He asked innocently, "Is that all?"

Lana ground her teeth and faced Evan. "I'll be in the truck." She glared at Lex and stormed away.

Evan sighed, "Do you enjoy rattling people's cages, Mr. Luthor? If you do it enough you could get bitten."

"I know to step back before that happens."

"I'm not too sure. The only reason she hasn't snapped yet is her self control."

"Lana has a tendency to fall for people who seem to just show up in her life. You're the latest example."

"Lana can make sound decisions. I didn't force her into anything." He pulled out the truck keys and Lex stopped his arm. The keys fell to the ground.

"I care for Lana. I don't want to see her hurt again."

Evan scoffed, "You found her during the shower and accused her of being crazy. That's what hurt her."

"Be careful, Mr. Fields. You may be her boyfriend but I will protect Lana from you if I have to."

Evan turned to leave, "I'll be protecting her from you." He glanced at the keys and then to Lex.

Lex set his jaw in anger and picked up the keys for Evan. After a moment, he relaxed and turned to help with the construction.

Evan climbed into the truck and started the engine. "Lana, I hope you'll alright."

"I'm fine. I just wish we weren't the only ones who know what his real motives are."

"Well, with Chloe on the case, his true motives won't be a secret for too long." She nodded and they drove away.

Chloe and Clark stood by her car and watched Evan and Lana drive away. Clark glanced at Chloe and asked, "More tension with Evan?"

Chloe nodded and sighed, "I know Evan can handle himself, but I wish he would back off on Lex. He is going to go too far and when that happens, it is not going to be pretty." She leaned against Clark and whispered, "I don't know if my connections will be strong enough to bail him out if something happens."

"Connections or not, you won't let him down. Friends look out for each other."

Chloe gave a small smile and then turned to face Clark. "Look, I have to go check in with Hank, but we are going to need to talk later. Something's come to my attention but I don't want to mention it in public or when Lex is around. I'll be at the farm all day, so finish the barn and I'll see you later, okay?"

Clark looked worried, "Is everything okay?"

Chloe answered nervously, "I certainly hope so. I'll see you tonight." She kissed him got in the car. She drove away and Clark watched her leave. He turned and walked back to the barn.

Three men walked up into the driveway of the Kent farm. Two of them were extremely pale and one asked, "Is this…" The second finished, "The place?"

The lead man nodded and looked at the red truck in the driveway. He looked toward the barn and smirked, "Let's bait ourselves a farm boy." They went over and walked inside. They heard a noise from the loft and the two men linked hands.

A male voice spoke up nervously, "Mr. Kent, we were about to head back." The man looked over the railings and a force field shot toward him and forced him upward. He grunted as he hit the ceiling and was held there.

Lana watched Evan fly toward the ceiling and gasped out loud. She ran to the rail and looked down. The lead man looked at her and demanded, "We want to know where Kent is!"

Lana swallowed and glanced at Evan in fear. The three men all glared at her. "He's at a barn rising. I can call him from the house." The man nodded and glanced toward the two men. They released their hands and Evan fell into a pile of hay. Lana ran down to check on him. At the bottom of the stairs, the man grabbed her and pulled her into the house while the two men brought Evan.

Chloe drove up the farm driveway. She looked at the truck in confusion. She thought Lana and Evan would have returned from to the barn by now. She got out and walked around the truck. She looked inside and noticed Lana's purse was still in the passenger seat. She walked toward the barn and looked around. The barn was empty. She shrugged and went back to the house. She walked into the kitchen and stopped. She sniffed and grew cautious. She called, "Lana? Evan? Is everything okay?" No one answered and she reached for her cell phone. Before she could dial, she was forcefully forced across the kitchen and slammed into some cabinets. She tried to stand but couldn't stand up. Confused she looked down and saw a long piece of wood sticking out her leg. She reached for the wood and yanked it out. She stood up and walked forward into the living room. She saw Lana and Evan sitting on the couch. Three men were standing around them and one had his arm pointed at Lana. Chloe sighed at seeing energy flowing from the man's fingers. He warned, "Come any closer and the brunette get fried." He looked at the other two men and ordered, "Get it up so no one else can get in."

The twins nodded and punched each others hand. A bubble quickly grew and encompassed the whole house. As it passed Chloe, she felt momentarily dizzy and shook it off. She smirked at the energy freak and taunted, "The latest set of meteor mutants. Your energy trick is impressive. From the looks of you, I'd say you have increased strength as well." She held up her hands and waved him over. "Let's see what you've got."

The man smirked and the energy faded. He walked over to Chloe and held out his hands in invitation, "My strength is normal, but ladies first." Chloe didn't hesitate and let loose with a roundhouse to his jaw. She gasped in shock and pain as she felt her knuckles reverberate with the impact. The man looked unimpressed and stared into her eyes. "My turn." His fist shot out and grazed her jaw. Chloe grunted in pain as she backed up and hit the floor. She lay there dizzy and she looked up at him. He shook his head in disappointment, "I thought you were actually serious."

He reached for her shirt and yanked her over and tossed her over to where Lana was sitting. Lana looked over in concern and looked at her jaw. Chloe rubbed at her chin and winced. She felt her lip and looked at her fingers. She announced in shock, "My lip is cut."

The man scoffed at her, "I think that normally happens when someone punches you."

Lana asked, "What do you want?"

"I already told you, we want Kent."

Chloe struggled to sit up, "If anything happens to us, Clark won't help you."

The man glared and released a bolt of energy at Chloe. She screamed in agony and fell to the floor in pain. Lana pleaded with him, "Stop it, please! If you let me use the phone, I can get Clark to come here."

Chloe shook her head and choked out, "No, Lana. Too dangerous." In response the man released another bolt at her. She stiffened and screamed in pain again.

Lana shouted, "I'll call him! I will call him right now!" The man nodded and Lana quickly walked to the phone. She yelped as the man gripped her hair and told her, "No funny stuff or I will finish the girl and start on your boyfriend." Lana nodded and dialed the number.

Clark took a long drink of water and sighed in relief. He looked down as his cell rang. He pulled it out and smiled as he answered, "Hey, Lana. The crew is still waiting for those nails."

"I know, but Evan and I got distracted. Then Chloe showed up and accidentally got burned by a loose electrical wire."

Clark lost his smile and repeated, "She got burned?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. Evan thinks it is at least a second degree. I tried calling the paramedics, but some telephone wires must still be down, and I can't find your first aid kit."

Clark swallowed, "Okay, I'll be right over." He hung up and looked around nervously. He walked to the car and got in.

He started the engine and jumped when Jonathan knocked on the window. "Where are you going, son?"

"Chloe wanted to tell me something and we planned to meet at the farm in 15 minutes."

Jonathan shrugged and said, "I'll go with you. I can see what's taking Evan so long." Clark swallowed nervously and Jonathan got in the passenger seat.

Lana and Evan sat next to Chloe who was lying on the couch. They watched as the three men argued about kidnapping the three of them.

Lana heard the sound of a car approaching and looked toward the window. Clark and Jonathan were getting out of the blue truck. They came inside and Chloe weakly tried to stand. The twins turned the field back on and she winced and collapsed to the couch again. She blinked several times and whimpered. She whispered softly, "Please make it stop. Turn it off."

Lana and Evan looked at each other worriedly. The three men moved out of site as Jonathan and Clark came into the living room. They saw Chloe and both ran to check on her. Jon looked at her lip and leg in confusion. He asked, "What happened?"

The energy freak spoke up, "I needed some bait to get Clark Kent here. We heard about his skills and we need a favor from him."

Clark stayed next to Chloe and said, "I don't where you got your information, but it isn't accurate. I don't have any powers."

The man glared and stalked toward Clark angrily. "You will help us." Clark turned to face him and slugged him in the stomach. The man smirked, "Oh is that how you wanna play it?" He swung his fist at Clark's jaw and Clark fell backwards to the floor.

Chloe fiercely whispered, "Clark, don't. Please."

Lana heard her and asked, "What do you want Clark to do?"

The man looked at her, "We need a pickup from LuthorCorp. A little place called Level 3."

Lana and Clark frowned and looked at him. Clark stood and asked, "You've been to Level Three?"

"So, you've heard of it."

"Yeah, it's supposed to be a top secret research facility at Luthor Corp. Everybody thinks it's just a myth."

"Yeah, spending a couple of weeks in there can make it pretty real."

Clark looked shocked, "You've been in Level 3?"

Lee smirked, "Yeah, I had a real nice stay. Gourmet food, satellite TV, and a nifty little green cocktail shot in my neck three times a day."

"They were experimenting on you?"

"Just trying to amp up what the Wonder twins and I could already do. It worked. Then one morning, I woke up in Belle Reeve. No more satellite TV. No more green cocktails."

"They got you hooked then cut you off."

Lee shouted, "Look, we all got a cross to bear, kid, and this is yours: You're gonna break into Level 3. You're gonna get me that serum. Otherwise, you're gonna be playing patty cake all by your lonesome."

Clark objected, "What do you need me for? I've seen what you can do. Why not just go in there and get it yourself?"

"They got all kinds of defense systems to keep people like me out, but if the stories I hear at Belle Reeve about you are true, then you shouldn't have a problem."

Jonathan spoke up, "Look, I am not going to let you order my son around!"

"Pipe down, old man!"

"Listen, fella. I don't think you know who the hell you're talking to…" Lee glares and sends a bolt at him, knocking him across the room.

"Stop! Just stop! I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt anyone else."

"Smart move, farm boy. You got two hours to get back here with the serum or I'm gonna fire me up some family barbeque."

Clark glanced over and asked, "Let me take Chloe with me. She needs to see a doctor."

Lee looked over and shook his head. "No. You can take the guy. That's the only good faith I'm giving today."

Clark swallowed and knelt next to her and whispered, "I'll be back soon."

Chloe gazed at him through clouded eyes and pulled out her keys, "Take my car."

"Evan will be watching my back. I will come back to you."

Chloe tried to kiss him but Lee yanked Clark away. Evan and Clark were shoved outside and the shield went back up. Evan swallowed, "We need to hurry. That field is generating some kind of harmonic resonance. If Chloe is exposed for too long, it will kill her."

Clark nodded, "Let's get going."

Clark and Evan drive up to LuthorCorp and get out of the car.

Clark looked at the building and sighed, "We're here. All we know is that the serum is in a vault somewhere in there in Level 3."

Evan commented, "So this is where our nut job was experimented on and Lex is on a plane to Washington. We have to do this the old fashioned way. I'm always up for a little mission impossible."

"Yeah."

Evan sighed and booted up Chloe's laptop. After a few minutes, he announced, "Based on her research, public records shows this section of Luthor Corp was closed a year ago. Supposedly they were turned into storage."

"It's a great cover if you don't want anyone to know what you are up to."

"Exactly. Now, I can't pull up anything called "top secret evil lab" on the schematics, but I did find this: or more accurately, didn't." The lap top displays the Luthor Corp blueprints. There is a large blacked-out area.

"Level 3."

"I guess Lex neglected to provide the blueprints for the remodel." They get out of the car and open the trunk to reveal various gadgets. They look at the items in amazement.

Evan whistled, "Kent, your girl sure stocks up on supplies."

"I'll have to ask where she got this stuff." He looked a one item and picked it up. "Is this a flash grenade?"

"You might want to be careful with that. You of all people know everyone has secrets, Clark." The two sneak past the guards and make their way inside. Clark glanced around nervously and Evan told him, "Relax, Clark. We still have a couple minutes before the guards swing back around."

"You sure this is going to work?"

"What would you do then?"

"Well, normally, I'd just rip open the door, super speed past the cameras, and somehow open the vault with my heat vision."

Evan raised his eyebrows, "That's pretty simple. So what you're saying is: now that you are human, you have no useful skills."

Clark sighed, "Not so much."

Evan smirked, "And you want to be human?" Clark shot him a glare and Evan recanted. "Great. We had our own super hero and this is what we get."

"We don't need super powers for this. You get the door open and then access the surveillance cameras. Then loop the same empty hallway over and over and I…"

Evan shook his head, "Clark that kind of electronic hocus-pocus is going to take hours to rig up. Sometimes it's easier if you just turn off the power." He presses some buttons on the lap-top and the door opens.

The sheriff drives up to the Kent Farm with her sirens on. Lee glares out the window and growls, "Looks like the kid done went and called the law on us. I guess he doesn't love you very much."

Lana assures them, "Clark wouldn't go to the police."

Jonathan reasons, "I'm sure it's just routine."

Lee shrugs, "Yeah, well, too bad for her then."

Lana pleads, "Wait! We'll get rid of her. Just don't freak out!"

"Baby, you'll know when I freak out. Look, get rid of the sheriff or your friends girlfriend is toast."

He and the twins grab Chloe and drag him her to front room. The sheriff knocks on the door.

Jonathan and Lana exchange worried glances, "Just a second!" He opens the door. "Good afternoon, Sheriff."

She nods, "I'm sorry to trouble you folks, but three real mean cusses busted out of Belle Reeve last night. Put about half a dozen guards in the hospital and we found the car they stole a mile up the road."

"We'll keep our eyes open."

"Well, you be sure and do that. Where are your son and Ms. Sullivan? Those two have been close to inseparable these days."

Lana tells her, "They're still at the barn raising."

She replies, "Oh, I was just there. I didn't see them. Well, make sure they know what's going on when they turns up."

"Sure will, thank you."

She turns to leave and stops. "Wait a minute. Is that coffee I smell?" Jonathan and Lana glance over and Jonathan smiles forcefully

Clark made his way through a ventilation shaft and complained, "We're running out of time. There's gotta be another way to do this."

Evan sighed in annoyance, "Clark, there isn't. The only direct access to Level 3 is through a magnetically sealed door with redundancy powered backup. You have to get through the air vent and unlock the backups from the inside."

"How much further?"

Evan checked the diagram, "Well, according to the air vent diagram, you should be getting close to an exhaust vent port right above the vent's end. Take your next left. C'mon Clark left!"

Clark stopped and commented, "I'm going in circles!"

Evan shook his head, "No, you're not. It just feels that way because you are in a confined space with no sure markers."

"This is impossible! Its a million degrees in here!"

Evan smirked and joked, "Gosh, Clark. I didn't realize super whining was one of your powers." He kept moving down the vent when he hears a buzzing noise. Evan grew worried, "Crap, Clark! I think you tripped some sort of lock down switch."

"What?! What do I do?"

"Go. Go, go, go, go, go." The vent begins to lock down in Clark's wake. "Go left. Left!

The vent locks down in front of Clark. He goes left.

Clark rushes forward and shouts in surprise and falls through the vent, hanging from the ceiling.

Evan asks scared, "Clark! Clark, are you alright? Clark, Clark! Are you okay?"

He inhales in effort as he works to stay up as he replies, "Yeah, super."

Lee swallows in anger as he listens to the sheriff make small talk. He has his hand over Chloe's mouth as they are waiting for the sheriff to leave. The sheriff compliments, "Good coffee, Mr. Kent."

He smiles politely, "Thank you, Sheriff. Um, would you mind if I finish the rest of my chores while there's still some daylight out there?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, I should get going, myself. Thanks for the coffee." She starts to leave and notices a pack of Lee's cigarettes. She picks them up and eyes Jonathan questioningly, "Wouldn't think a man with your heart condition would take to smoking', Mr. Kent."

Lana quickly tells her, "Those are mine, Sheriff. I started after the meteor shower. Nerves."

She looked disapprovingly, "Nasty habit, Miss Lang. You better quit before they kill ya. Thanks again for the hospitality. I'll let myself out." The two sigh as she leaves. Outside, the sheriff activates her radio. "All units, we got a 10-11 out at the Kent Farm. I repeat a 10-11 out at the Kent Farm."

She spins around as she hears, "Oh, Sheriff!"

She tries to draw her weapon, but he's too quick, shooting her with his energy, knocking her over her car and on the ground. Jonathan takes the distraction to tackle Lee. Lana cries out in fear, "Mr. Kent!" Lee punches Jonathan. Lana is attacked by the twins. She manages to grab a nail gun, and nails one hand to the wall.

The twin pulls the nail out and grunts in pain, "That really…""Hurt!"

Lee shouts to them, "Get the field up!" as he takes another swing at Jonathan. The police arrive as the twins activate the force field. The police find they can't go through it. Lee looks out the window in anger, "Aaah! Well, ain't this a right pickle?"

After he gets down from the vent, Clark starts climbing down from the ceiling, using the various pipes and beams. Evan questions, "Clark, how's it going?"

He scoffs, "Well, I'm not really crazy about heights. Okay, I'm on the ground. What am I looking for?"

"Okay, um, just a really big door."

"Big door...big door. Got it."

Eva tells him, "Okay. Now look fort he manual override switch." He presses it and the door slides open. Evan walks in impressed.

"Good going, Kent."

"I guess you didn't have any trouble with the guards."

He nodded, "It was weird, actually. It was like they were only guarding the perimeter from the outside." He looks at the vault and raises his eyebrows. "Wow."

"Can you get us in?"

"No, the locking mechanism is controlled by finger print access."

Clark grits his teeth, "There's gotta be a way to bypass it."

Evan held up hands to defend himself, "Maybe if I had like a week or Lex's thumb..." He stops and carefully pulls out his keys. "Lex's thumb print."

"What do we need your keys for?"

Back at the Kent farm, the sheriff is hitting the barrier with her fist. An officer looks confused, "What the hell is this, Sheriff?"

She sighs, "It's another day in Smallville."

Inside the house, the twins are starting to get tired. "We cannot…""Maintain the field."

Lee growls, "You know, the whole finishing each other's sentences is really starting to grate on me!"

"We need the serum!"

"You ain't the only ones, Heckle and Jekyll! You keep that field up! We're almost home!"

The other twins suggests, "Perhaps we should cut our loses."

Lee yells, "No! We're gonna stick to the plan and wait for the Kent boy to get back. So, you two just shut up and concentrate."

Lana glances at Jonathan worried, "Is it just me, or are they starting to look desperate?"

Jonathan nods and they glance at Chloe. "I'm more worried about her. When that field went up, her pulse dropped even lower."

"Don't worry, Mr. Kent. Clark will figure a way to get us out of this. He won't let us die."

Clark watched as Evan taped Lex' finger print, "Is that gonna do it?"

"It better. It's our last clean print. Hand me the tape." Clark's phone rings.

"Hello?"

Lee shouts, "Times up, bright boy. Where's my stuff?"

"I got it. I'm on my way."

"You better be." He hangs up. Clark and Evan walk inside the vault.

Clark nods impressed, "Who needs super powers with you around?" He reaches for the serum, but yells in pain as his arm hits a laser.

Evan sighed in worry, "Great, laser safeguards. You okay, Kent?"

Clark groans and looks concerned.

Lee pushes Lana to the floor, "He's got a couple of minutes. Then I start killing me some people. Starting with you, blondie." Jonathan and Lana glanced at each with concern.

Clark paced as Evan checked Chloe's laptop, "Can you disrupt this thing? What if we shoot the grid down?"

"I'll try, but that could take hours."

Clark tried to stay calm, "Evan, I already told them I had the serum."

Evan kept and commented, "Well, maybe that was premature. Can't you call him back and see if he can give you more time?"

"He's not the more time kinda guy."

"Well, unless you get your powers back in the next few minutes, we don't have a choice! You can't walk in there without your abilities. The lasers will cut you to pieces!"

He thought for a minute and looked up hopefully, "There might be one other way. Can you find out where the signal's coming from?"

Evan narrowed his eyes, "What are you thinking, Kent?"

Clark started to leave, "Whatever it takes."

Clark drives up in Chloe's bug and ran over to Sheriff Adams. "Sheriff! Hey, Sheriff!"

She shouts to her men, "Let him through! What in the blazes do you think you are doing, Mr. Kent?!"

He looked worried, "I'm trying to save my dad, Chloe and Lana. You have to pull your men back now!"

She glared and told him, "Last time I checked, I was the one wearing the badge and barking orders."

He yelled, "I can stop this!"

She lowered her head and sighed, "This is not the time to be a hero."

He shouted, "I'm not!" He inhaled and told her, "Look, I'm just a normal guy who doesn't want to see everyone he loves die. Please, Sheriff. You have to trust me. I can do this."

She bites her lip, "Even if I lost all my sense and gave you the okay, there's some sort of barrier around the whole place. How do you plan to get past that?"

Clark holds up his cell phone. "With this."

Lee saw him standing by the field. "Right. Nice and easy, kid. I'm feeling kinda twitchy." He yelled at the twins, "Get the force field down!"

Lana exhaled in relief, "He did it."

"Shut up! He ain't done anything yet. Alright, get the field back up. Get it up!" Clark enters. "I was starting to think you forgot about us."

He glanced over at Chloe concerned, "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." He holds up a case of something in his hand.

"Ain't nothin' okay till I say so!"

Clark looked scared as he handed the case to Lee, "They really did a job on you at Luthor Corp., didn't they?"

"Look, they made me more than I was. I didn't ask for it. The power grows on me really fast. I guess some of that talk is true about you, kid. You really are out of this world."

Clark comments, "You have no idea." Lee opens the case that Clark brought him and is blinded by smoke.

Lee grunts in pain and anger, "Aaaah! Bad move, Kent!" He tries to shoot Clark with his powers, but Clark ducks and Lee hits the twins. They fly across the room and the field goes down. Clark picks up a mallet and swings it at the breaker box, cutting of the electricity. Lee can't use his powers. Clark moves to punch Lee, but Lee ducks and slams a fist into his stomach. Clark groaned and fell to his knees in pain. Lee glared at him and moved to punch him again.

"My turn, Lee." Lee turned to see Chloe standing in front of him. She smiled sweetly and grabbed the front of his shirt. "You've been annoying me for hours. You're done here." Lee growled and swung his fist at her jaw. Her head snapped to the side. She popped her neck and glared at him. She pulled him close and whispered, "I thought you were actually serious."

She hefted him and tossed him into the far wall. She moved toward him, but Clark stepped in her way. "He's down. It's over, Chlo." She exhaled and relaxed. They hugged each other in relief.

An hour the Belle Reeve escapees are being led out of the house in handcuffs by the police. Adams orders a deputy, "Get him outta here!" Lee stops to glare at Clark and Chloe. She stares at him and orders, "Keep movin', Sparky."

Chloe scoffs, "That's guy has some serious issues."

He nods, "Let's hope Belle Reeve can hold him this time. If not, you could always knock his lights out again."

Adams admonished, "Or you could call the authorities before you hatch another hair-brained rescue scheme."

Clark lowered his head slightly, "Sorry, Sheriff."

She smirked in admiration, "That aside, nice work, Mr. Kent. You ever consider a career in law enforcement?"

Chloe and Clark glanced at each other. "She's right, Clark. What you did was amazing." They look over as Evan walked in.

"I see the Troublesome Trio is back behind bars again."

Chloe and Clark both say hi as Adams left. Chloe joked, "Breaking news: Clark Kent saves the day."

Clark pointed at Evan, "Thanks to you."

Evan smirked and shrugged, "Yeah, well, I did just what I usually do. You were the one who took down three meteor freaks without any special advantages. Then again, once a hero, always a hero."

"Nah, it was a one time thing. I'm done with that now." Clark noticed Chloe's expression, "We've talked about this, Chloe."

Evan interrupted, "She's not the one you should worry about." They looked over at him confused as he finished, "I traced the carrier signal I picked up in the vault. I found a second layer of video feed hidden in the frequency." Clark ground his teeth in anger, "Someone was watching us. Or should I say you?"

Lex sat at his computer. He pulled up a security file and watched the video of Clark and Evan in the vault on his laptop. He sees Clark get hurt by the laser. He stares in confusion and shock. "This is impossible."

Clark pushes the doors open and questions, "Disappointed?"

Lex stands up quickly and starts, "Clark! I heard what happened. Is everyone alright?" Clark glares as he punches him in the face knocking him to the floor. Lex wipes a bloody nose as he shouts loudly, "What are you doing?"

"What I should've done a long time ago. Evan managed to trace the video feed from Level 3. You were watching us the whole time."

He protested, "I don't know what you're talking about." Clark throws him down on the ground a few feet away.

"After that, Chloe pulled the security records from Belle Reeve. You were there the day those psychos escaped! You helped them somehow, didn't you? What'd you promise them, Lex? Enough serum to last the rest of their lives?"

"You're being irrational."

Clark bellowed, "This whole thing was a set up. A test! And to do it, you put my father and friends in danger."

Lex protested, "Clark!"

He shook his head, "No!" and punches him again. He scoffed at Lex, "I thought we could start over, Lex, but you're too obsessed with the past. But, I'm different now and I'm through playing games with you. You wanna test me? You wanna see what I'm really made of; you do it yourself, you coward."

Clark hesitates and then swings another punch, but Lex blocks it and punches him in the face. Clark looks at him triumphantly as he wipes blood from a split lip. "Satisfied?" He walks out as Lex looks guilty and confused.

Chloe extended her claws several times and smiled softly. She heard the knock and invited, "Come on in, Clark.

He came in and smiled, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

She looked at his bruised lip and asked, "Do you feel better now?"

"Had to say goodbye to an old friend."

She smirked and asked, "Have you ever heard of a handshake? Come here." She holds a towel under a faucet. She dabs it at his bloody lip.

Clark groaned in pain. "Don't give me that, Clark. What did you expect would happen?"

"I expected a fight to the death."

Chloe glanced at him sternly as her eyes watered slightly, "That isn't funny, Clark."

He noticed the change in her mood, "What's wrong?"

She wiped a tear and took a breath. "I went to Belle Reeve this morning." She carefully told him, "I had a short talk with your father."

Clark frowned as he sat up straighter, "What do you mean?"

"Jor-El is somehow using Lionel as an antenna. I only had a few moments, but his message for now was clear." She glanced at him sadly as her voice broke, "He said that you were going to die soon." She choked back a sob, "And when those mutants threatened you, I thought that was it. I didn't think you were coming back."

Clark sighed, "Well, I did. We can't let some representation of my biological father dictate my life."

"Clark, every time you went against him, it cost you something. What if your missing your fortress deadline costs you your life?"

"You can't think that way. I know you're scared, but we get through this. We will get through this." He kissed her on the forehead, "I promise."

She swallowed her tears and forced a smile, "I hope so."


	3. Hidden

Lana groaned as Chloe's cell rang again. "Chloe, would you please turn that thing off?" Lana glanced up when no one answered. Lana sighed when she noticed Chloe's bed was empty. She got up and walked over to get the phone. "Hello?"

"You're not Chloe. Who is this?"

"I'm her extremely sleepy roommate. Who is this?"

"It's Gabriel Duncan and I don't have time to make small talk. Put Chloe on the phone."

"She isn't here. What's the emergency?"

"She has to tell the world why it was necessary. You have to find her and you both need to leave Smallville in the next hour."

Lana's stomach froze, "What happens in an hour?"

"Smallville is gonna be gone forever."

Chloe opened her eyes and inhaled softly as the alarm went off. She looked over and gently nudged Clark who woke up. She smiled at him, "Hi."

"Hi."

Chloe stretched and commented, "That was the best night's sleep I have had in weeks."

They stare at each other while listened to the announcer, "Thanks for listening this morning. It's six-thirty on a—"

Clark paled, "Oh, God!"

Chloe realized as well and sat up in bed, "Oh my God!"

He gets up to grab his clothes and questioned, "How did we fall asleep?"

Chloe reproved, "I told you we shoulda gone to the Talon!"

Clark turns around and hits his foot on the bed post. "Geez, but--ow! Ow! Ow, that hurt so much! Alright, look, okay, my dad isn't going to be up for about fifteen minutes and we gotta get outta here. Well, you gotta get outta here."

Chloe throws on Clark's shirt for the night before and cracks, "You sure, cause sticking around for breakfast sounds like fun."

Clark pales in horror, "What?!"

Chloe shakes her head and hugs him, "'I won't fall asleep. I promise.' What else are we going to do at three o'clock in the morning?

Clark grabs his jacket and asked, "Look, you aren't mad, are you?"

Chloe gives him a fake glare, "I'm furious." She leans forward and kisses him.

"Come on." They sneak quietly down the stairs. In the hallway, Clark's jacket knocks over a metal candle holder. They freeze and glanced worried upstairs. They get to the entryway and they stop in shock.

Jonathan asks, "Hey, Clark. What the…" He sees Chloe in Clark's shirt and stops.

Chloe smiles weakly, "Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Good morning."

Jonathan gets off the chair and looks at them upset. Clark holds his hand up, "I can explain."

Chloe steps in, "Clark and I made this decision together. So, if you are angry, you should be angry at both of us."

Martha tells them, "We're not mad, but this is, umm--you're both in new territory."

Jonathan glares at them, "Chloe, if you didn't know his secret, this would be different. I know you have a schedule today, so I won't keep you right now. You and I will be talking about this later. So, if you don't mind, I would like to speak to my son alone, please."

Chloe nods and offers Clark a worried glance and leaves.

Jonathan points to a chair and orders, "You, sit down."

Clark goes to sit down and tells them, "Just remember I'm eighteen and Chloe and I love each other, so it's not like we rushed into something here."

Martha asks hopefully, "Please tell me you were at least safe."

Jonathan and Clark both look at him in surprise and Clark lowers his head and answers, "Yeah. Yeah, Mom."

Jonathan shouts, "Safe? Safe has got nothing to do with this. You shouldn't be doing anything like this, especially under our roof."

"Well, like you didn't do it?"

Martha raises her eyebrows in amusement and shock. Jonathan corrects him, "Clark! There were a lot of conversations I didn't have with you because I didn't think I needed to have them."

"Because you guys always think I'm not normal."

Martha offers, "No, no, no. It's just that...you're so much more vulnerable without your powers."

"Knock, knock." The family looked over as Lana and Kitty walked in. Lana looked at them confused, "I tried to stop Chloe, but she took off like a bat out of hell. What's she doing here so early?" She and Kitty then notice Clark's nervousness.

Kitty asks, "So, is the tour of Smallville on hiatus for now?"

Lana quickly spoke up, "We may a bigger problem. I got a call from someone named Gabriel Duncan."

Clark asked, "The tech guy from the Torch?"

"I would guess. He tells me to find Chloe and get out of town, because Smalliville is going to be gone in 50 minutes."

Jonathan sighed, "Did you go to the sheriff, Lana?"

"Yeah, but given my track record, I'm not exactly an accurate source."

Jonathan glanced at Clark, "Why don't the three of you go find Gabriel. I'll go talk to the sheriff myself."

Lana excused herself, "I actually can't. I need to get to the apartment and start packing. I have to be in metropolis tomorrow to find an apartment for college."

Kitty shrugged, "I got nothing planned. I'll come along."

Lana closed the door and frowned as Lex asked, "Early morning or late night?"

She glared at him, "Early morning. What the hell are you doing here?"

Lex smirked and held up several pictures of two people and a black ship. "I've been admiring your sketches. I didn't mean to pry."

She scowled and grabbed the pictures from him, "No, of course not. You were just going through my things to get better acquainted. You can't just come in here like this!"

"Lana, I didn't mean to rattle you. There was no answer, so I started to get concerned."

She told him coldly, "Lex, I'm fine."

"Are you sure about that? Look, I just want to talk about what you saw that day."

Lana stared at him with anger, "I'm sorry. Weren't you the person who told me I was hallucinating last time I mentioned a spaceship?" She opens her door for him to leave.

"Lana, I might have appeared skeptical, but I still believed in you. That's why I send an expert to the site. Whatever caused that crater was not a meteor. Have you talked to anyone else about this? Like Clark?"

She shook her head, "You know when you start rambling about spaceships and aliens, people kind of look at you funny."

"Well, they must not have the same faith in you that I do. You're not crazy." She watches him leave.

A military vehicle drives up to a police road block. Jonathan walks up to the Sheriff. "Sheriff Adams, may I speak to you for a minute?"

She steps away from the road block and sighs, "Nothing to worry about, Mr. Kent. It's just a routine drill."

He glanced past her at the military officers running around, "It's a routine drill at the Hamstead Farm, huh? Wouldn't have anything to do with the missile silo in their back field, would it?"

Adams looked concerned, "Why don't you go on back to your truck, Mr. Kent?"

"Look, it's no secret that the government put dozens of these things out here, but I just thought they'd decommission them after the Cold War."

She assured him, "Look, Mr. Kent. Thank you. We have it all under control. Thank you very much. Why don't you relax, sir, and let us do our job?" Jonathan frowned and walked back to his truck.

Back at the missile silo, Gabriel is typing on the computer. The clock reads "00:43:48".

A dozen military personnel walk down the hallway of the silo, weapons at the ready. They enter the control room to find it very much empty. Sheriff Adams enters as well.

Adams sighs in relief, "All officers can stand down. There isn't even a missile in here. This is a false alarm."

An officer tells her, "Not exactly. That signal did not come from in here. It was rerouted through at least fifteen silos that are still active in the country. He could be in any one of them."

Chloe walks up an alley and glances around the area. She then puts her hand on the wall and a door slides open. She walks in and went over to Allison. "Hey, Ally. What time is the race?"

Clark and Kitty walk up to a house. Clark knocks on the door and calls, "Gabriel!" Clark tries the door and finds it locked. "It's locked."

Kitty smirks and grabs his shoulder and pushes him forward and they pass though the door, "Call it plan B. It's for those of us who can't crush metal with our bare hands.

She calls out, "Hello? Is anybody here?" They see a picture of Gabriel's dad in military regalia. They look around for a moment. Kitty frowns and asks, "Find anything?"

Clark holds up some documents, "Does the fact that Gabriel's father was a not-so retired military colonel count? These briefs are only a few weeks old."

Kitty glances over them, "A colonel with an aero-space engineering degree from Perdue? Do you think that he might be the light house keeper for the local nuclear missiles?"

They open some double doors. Kitty gapes in awe at seeing that every inch of the room is covered with pictures, "Whoa. Wall of Weird times a hundred. Looks like Gabriel is giving Chloe a run for her money."

Clark sighed, "Um, yeah, I'd say he lapped her a few times. Why would he be so obsessed with meteor freaks?" Kitty gives him a questioning look. Clark objects, "Chloe's journalistic curiosity is one thing, but paper macheing your walls is another."

Kitty sighs, "Shouldn't that have been a red flag?" Clark looks curiously at her and she continues. "I just…if Gabriel was so determined to go atomic on the meteor epidemic, then why didn't his dad stop him?"

Clark looks over in the next room and points, "Looks like he tried." We see the body of Gabriel's dad lying on the kitchen floor.

Lex looked disappointed at the technician, "I expected results by now."

"That laser has technology so cutting edge that even the military doesn't know about it. We've tried every option."

Lex told him, "Luthor Corp. doesn't believe in finite solutions."

"I'm not sure you understand, sir. We've used every chemical compound that exists, every alloy of metal, every method known to man."

Lex interrupted, "Which would clearly suggest that this craft isn't known to man? I recommend that you and your team start thinking out of the box."

"I'm trying to explain…"

Lex snapped, "For every question in this universe there is an answer. Now, if you find that task too challenging, I'll recruit someone who doesn't." He crouches down so that he sees the spaceship's undercarriage. There is a black liquid dripping from it. Lex told him, "Find a way in." He frowned and said, "Wait--I didn't see this before."

The technician frowns, "That's because it wasn't there." The bottom of the ship bears a symbol that looks similar to a Z.

Clark and Kitty stand outside the car. Clark is slightly worried, "I don't know how they are going to check fifteen silos in forty minutes."

Kitty reasons, "Well, neither can you anymore, Clark, if that's what you're thinking. It's kinda rough being regular flesh and blood, don't you think?"

"You manage to make it work." He narrowed his eyes and said, "You know, of all people in Smallville, Chloe was the only one he warned to get out."

"Well, he just wants her to tell his story."

"Either way, he trusts her. Maybe we don't need to search every silo."

Gabriel hears his phone and stops to answer it, "Hello?"

"Gabriel, hi. I, uh, I need your help. Lana gave me your message. I started to leave town like you said, but then I was really freaked out when I was driving and then this dog ran out in the road and I…"

"Chloe, slow down. What happened?"

"And I guess, I guess I must've over cranked it and I ran my car into a ditch. And I can't get it started now and I'm really scared. Can you help me?"

Gabriel glanced at the clock and panicked slightly, "Where are you?"

"Uh, Route 87, near the Old Mill."

"Okay, just hang on. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Chloe pressed end and then dialed Clark. "Okay, Clark. He is on his way to you. Just don't get hurt, you understand me?"

"I'll be fine."

"See you after you the race." She hung up and handed the phone to Allison. "Sorry for the interruption. Let's start this race."

Gabriel drives his car up to the Mill. He got out and looked around. He shouts out, "Chloe! Where are you?"

"She isn't coming." Gabriel turns to see Kitty and Clark by the tractor.

Gabriel swallows upset, "She tricked me."

Clark walked forward and tried to convince him, "I don't know what your reasons are for doing this, but killing an entire town isn't the answer."

Gabriel looked down and replied, "You're wrong, Clark. It's the only way." He pulls out a pistol and shoots Clark in the chest. Clark gasped in pain and shock. Gabriel aims for Kitty and shoots at her. He stares in shock as the bullet passes through her. "You're one of them." He ran forward and keeps firing until the gun runs out. He then knocks her out. He put her to the car and drives away. Clark falls to the ground and collapses.

Chloe smiled excitedly as she passed another racer. She began to make the last turn before the finish when she felt an intense pain shot through her chest. She gasped in agony and lost her balance. She landed hard on the road and skidded for a few hundred feet. She laid there for a minute and slowly stood up. Allison and her father ran up to her and checked on her.

"Chloe, are you okay?"

"I don't know. When I made the last turn, I felt this pain in my chest. It's gone now. Let's get back to the bar. Sorry for losing your money, Mr. Connell."

"Don't worry about it."

The hospital doors slammed open and paramedics rushed Clark into the ER. "I've got a gunshot found on Route 87. Male, eighteen, gunshot wound to the chest. Got massive bleeding, vitals aren't stable."

The doctor ran up and announced, "We need to operate. Prep him to the OR immediately."

Martha and Jonathan ran in as the cart was pushed to the OR. Martha shouted in worry, "Clark!"

Jonathan questioned, "What is it, doc?"

"I can't tell until I open him up, but it looks like a bullet pierced his lungs."

Their faces turned horrified, "A bullet?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to stay in the waiting area."

Kitty jerked awake as water splashed in her face. She looked around and saw Gabriel. "Clark could die out there. Do you want to be responsible for that?"

"In twenty minutes, he'll be dead anyway."

Kitty glanced at the computer and opened her mouth in horror, "You're going to kill everyone in Smallville?! How can you do that?"

"It's not that difficult. They fail-safed the program back in 1979. It only takes a moderate genius to bypass it. You don't watch your dad do the same drill for ten years and not pick up a thing or two." Kitty glared at him. "Don't look at me like that. You're safe here, okay? Besides, I want you to see the end of your kind."

Kitty scoffed, "So you feel eradication of meteor freaks is your mission in life? I wasn't too good in history, but I believe Hitler had the same intention."

Gabriel glared and said, "I don't expect you to understand. The last meteor shower left ten times as much rock to infect people as the last one did. Pretty soon, there's going to be more psychos running around this town. This is the only way to end it. It's my one chance to be a hero."

Kitty shook her head in disbelief, "So, you're exterminating a few meteor freaks by sacrificing the lives of innocent people?!"

"Innocent? Every single one of those mutants was innocent before the meteor showers. Even you were innocent once. My dad always warned me to stay away from the rocks, because they turn people into mutants."

Kitty looked confused, "Your dad? Were those his articles on the wall?"

"He tried to warn people. He said the meteors were destroying the town. No one would listen and during the last one, he became one."

Kitty offered, "You know, a lot of people think special abilities are a gift. I do. You didn't have to kill him just because he wasn't normal anymore."

Gabriel slowly answered, "He asked me to. No one wants to live like that. Pretty soon, no one will have to."

Lana walks into the hospital and slowly closes the door. She walks over and sits next to Clark. She looked on sadly, "I don't even know if you can hear me, but I need you to know that from the first moment that I saw you, I knew that no one could make me safer than you. But, I also knew that you would never change. You would always be running around, trying to save the day. All those times I pushed you away was because I knew this day would come."

Clark stirred in his sleep and mumbled, "Chloe." She sighs sadly. She looks on in horror as he flat lines.

The doctor and several nurses enter. "You're not supposed to be in here. Please, you need to clear the room.

Lana is forced out of the room and the doctor and nurses begin to work on Clark. The doctor uses a defibrillator on him. "Clear!"

Chloe is taking a drink when she feels a jolt in her chest and from the symbol on her back. She gasps in pain and drops her glass.

Allison runs over in confusion, "Chloe, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think a stun gun just hit me." She gasped as she felt it again. She felt the pain two more times and then it stopped. Chloe caught her breath and glanced at Allison, "Something is wrong. I need to get to Smallville now." Allison nodded and grabbed her keys and jacket.

Lana starts crying as the doctors stop their work. The doctor looks upset and glances at the clock. "I'm calling it. Time of death: 7:18 AM."

Lana breaks down into sobs and runs to him, touching his face. The nurse gently pulls her away as the doctor puts the sheet over Clark's head.

Jonathan and Martha are in the waiting room, holding hands. They see Lana walking down the hall in tears. They stand up. Martha pales, "Oh, no."

The doctor walks in. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, we did everything we could."

"No!"

"But, we lost him." Lana looks on sadly as Martha begins to sob and Jonathan holds her.

The nurse walks in and whispers, "Doctor, there's a problem with the Kent boy." Everybody heads back to the OR to find that Clark is missing.

Kitty watches Gabriel as he checks the status of the launch. She swallows nervously as the computer announces: _Two minutes 'til launch._ She sees the guard's dead body on the ground. She concentrates and the ropes fall to the floor. She quietly walks over and picks up the guard's night stick.

Gabriel presses some buttons on the computer. Kitty swings the stick hard across his head, knocking him away from the controls. She begins to type frantically on the keyboard. The computer flashes 'access denied.' She groans in frustration, "Why didn't I pay attention in computer class?" She runs over to a window and sees the missile prepared to launch. She panics, "Oh, God."

Gabriel comes to and points his gun at her. She turns around and hits him. Kitty runs up and tries to get the gun from him. He yells at her angrily, "Do you not understand? This is the only way!" Kitty starts to lose the struggle and groans in fear. At the last moment, she closes her eyes and backs away. Gabriel aims and fires. He flinches in surprise. He looks down and sees blood begin to soak his shirt. Kitty looks on sympathetically as he collapses to the floor.

Kitty looks at the window as the computer counts down: _5, 4, 3, 2, ignition._ She watches in horror as the missile is launched.

Clark awakes as blue light shines in his eyes and he stands up. He looks around and realizes he's in the Fortress of Solitude. He looks over and gets confused at seeing Lionel standing a few feet away.

Lionel speaks to him, "Hello, Kal-El."

Clark narrows his eyes and asks, "How do you know to call me that?"

"You're my son."

"Jor-El?"

Jor-El sighs, "I had hoped the time had come that you would call me father."

Clark asks confused, "I was; I was just at the hospital. How did how did you get me here?"

"The portal in the cave. When this body was activated by the crystal, it became an oracle of Kryptonian knowledge, a vessel to inhabit if ever you should need me. That time is now."

Clark asked worried, "Am I dead?"

"Your mortal journey is over, yes, but your eminent destiny is too important to sacrifice. You will return with all your natural gifts. Unfortunately, this rectification does not come without a price." He pauses for a moment, "The life of someone close to you will be exchanged for yours."

Clark looks upset, "No. No, I would never ask for that."

"You already did. When you decided to relinquish your powers and disobey me. It was your choice."

Clark demands, "Then just don't bring me back!"

"It's too late. For everything in nature, there is a balance. The life force that has been returned to you will soon be taken from. From someone you love. You're about to face your darkest hour, my son. But, remember: The lessons that we learn from pain are the ones that make us the strongest." Clark looks somewhat angry. Jor-El hugs Clark and from his hands and a blue energy emits from his hands "Always know that I love you." Clark disappears in a blinding flash.

Clark super speeds down it. He looks around sees the missile launching. He frowns in determination and speeds in its direction. Clark gets in the field and moves into a crouching run. The air around him distorts and he shots upward at super speed. He soars toward the missile and grabs hold of it. Clark struggles to climb up the missile as it climbs higher into the atmosphere. He gets a grip on it as the lower half detached. Clark kept his grip as the missile accelerated. He gets to the top and rips the housing off the hull. He reaches inside and rips out the warhead. He pulls back and hurls it into space. It flies out and explodes. The shockwave sent the top hurtling back to earth.

Kitty paces the control in panic. She covers her mouth in horror as the silo is rocked by a crashing sound. She exhales in anxiety. She hears a beeping sound from the computer and turns around. She looks at the computer screen which reads "missile malfunction." She smiles in amazement and relief, "Clark."

Martha looks on anxiously as Jonathan yelled into the phone, "The hospital lost our son! Look, if I had any idea what happened, I wouldn't have had to call the police, now would I?" He listens for a moment and continues, "listen, what I want you to do is: get a hold of Sheriff Adams and send…"

Martha and Jonathan gasp in shock as Clark walks into the kitchen. He is covered in ash and his clothes are burned.

Jonathan speaks into the phone, "I'll call you back." He hangs up and walks to Clark.

Martha is smiling in relief and hugs him, "Oh, Clark!"

Jonathan hugs him as well, "Son, they told us you were dead."

Clark answers quietly, "I was."

Jonathan understands, "Jor-El."

Clark nods, "Yeah."

Martha gave him a sympathetic look, "He returned your powers, didn't he?"

"I'm not human anymore. It's the only way I could come back."

Jonathan questioned, "We heard about a missile malfunction. You stopped it, didn't you? It's not easy to sacrifice the things you want the most to save other people. We're so proud of you, Clark."

"The greater sacrifice would've been not coming back at all."

"Son, after all of those threats, Jor-El decided to offer you, to give you your powers back. He didn't ask for anything in return?"

Clark hesitated and replied, "No."

They hear a knock on the door and Lana calling out, "Mr. and Mrs. Kent?" Clark looks at his parents and they nod. Clark steps into the hallways so Lana can see him. She stares in disbelief, "Clark." She runs to him and jumps into his arms.

Lana pushes the study doors and storms into the study.

Lex commented, "Lana, I heard about Clark's resurrection. You know, I've never really believed in miracles, but I've certainly done my share of asking for them today."

She glared, "Me too, but I think that we have different reasons." She opens her purse and pulls out a blue folder. She tosses on the desk.

"Clark's medical file."

Lex admonishes, "That's confidential."

She scoffs, "I heard you ask for it at the hospital. All of his test results came back normal." She fumes silently as Lex looks it over, "When are you going to realize, Lex, that he is just like the rest of us?"

"Do you really believe that or is that what you have to tell yourself to stay in a relationship with him? You've had our doubts about him too. You can't deny it."

"I was wrong. Believe me, there is nothing unusual about Clark. Except his ability to see the good in people who don't deserve it."

"I think you're forgetting something, Lana. Whatever new lie he told you, however he swept it under the rug, a normal person doesn't rise from the dead." She glares and storms out.

Lionel walks in and asks Lex, "Aren't you going to give your old dad a hug?"

Lex stares at him in confusion, "I was told you were missing from Belle Reeve for weeks. I don't understand. You've been nearly catatonic for weeks."

He looked somewhat amused, "Didn't I just overhear you say you've been looking for miracles all day?" He holds up his arms, "Looks like I'm it."

"So maybe you can tell me why you've been wondering around mumbling things like Krypton and Kal-El."

Lionel ponders over it, "Krypton, Kal-El. I don't; the last thing I remember is standing here, arguing with you."

He shakes his head in denial, "That was weeks ago. Okay, you don't recognize these?" Lex lifts up a rug which reveals the markings on the floor.

Lionel looks at it, "Looks like something from the cave. What is it?"

"I found you carving them with a cork screw."

Lionel chuckles, "Wasn't I creative?" Lex turns away in frustration, "I wish that I could unlock the labyrinth of my subconscious, but I'm sorry to disappoint you, son."

Lex looks relieved, "I have my father back. What's to disappoint? If anything, I say this is cause for celebration."

Clark is sitting on the couch in the loft. He glances up as Kitty enters. She comments cheerfully, "When Kansas didn't merge with Oklahoma today; I kinda guessed you were involved."

He looks at her relieved, "Looks like you're okay."

She sighed, "You don't look too bad, yourself. For a dead guy. I heard what happened at the hospital. You're back among the super hero group, aren't ya?"

"I didn't have a choice."

She looked at him seriously, "I know how much you've dreamt of having a bland, generic, mundane life. Believe me; I feel the same way sometimes. Being normal is highly overrated. And besides, it makes my role easier if you can bring super duper strength to the table. I mean, not that we didn't make a great team out there today and minus the whole part where I was kidnapped and you were shot. So, are you healing or how does that work exactly?"

Clark lifts up his shirt to reveal his healed gunshot wound. "Wow." She feels the skin in amazement. "Unscathed on the surface. That's not the real truth is it, Clark? What's going on underneath, Clark?"

He stands up and explains, "I guess I never will be able to escape who I really am. Back to the lies and hoping no one will ever ask to see the scar."

Kitty looked at him concerned, "Clark is everything okay? What's going on?"

He looked at her troubled, "I never should have given up my powers. Why didn't I listen to him? Kitty, I think I've made a terrible mistake."

Chloe ran up the stairs to the Talon apartment. She opened the door and called, "Lana?!"

Lana walked quickly out of the kitchen. "Chloe, you're back early. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. Is Clark okay?"

Lana looked slightly confused, but shook it off. "Now, don't panic."

Chloe paled and whispered, "Oh, no. What happened?"

She replied, "Gabriel Duncan shot him earlier this morning." Seeing Chloe's eyes shift to orange, she quickly added, "Clark has his powers back."

Chloe relaxed slightly, "Clark is okay?"

"He is now. Duncan programmed a missile to destroy Smallville. Clark and Kitty tried to find out where he was."

"That's why Clark told me to call him earlier."

"Yeah. Gabriel shot Clark and kidnapped Kitty. Clark died at the hospital. He came back in time to stop the missile."

"So, I guess he's a little upset, isn't he?"

"Yeah, we both know how much he wanted to be normal." Chloe went to put her stuff away when Lana told her, "I'm sorry."

Chloe looked at her funny, "For what?"

"I went to see Clark in the hospital after he was admitted."

"So? You're his friend."

"I still have some feelings for him, Chloe. They aren't very strong, but they are there."

Chloe raised her head slightly, "Oh."

"I'm not going to get in between the two of you. Clark clearly loves you. I won't ruin that for the two of you. I am apologizing for not understanding your anger when he got sick."

Chloe chuckled, "Lana that was 3 years ago."

"I didn't understand how angry you were when he called for me at that time. I felt a little indignant toward you." She walked over and looked Chloe right in the eye. "When I talked to him and he spoke your name, I realized exactly how you had felt that day." She lowered her gaze slightly, "I felt so angry at you. I know how petty that sounds."

Chloe sighed. "I know your feelings won't go away. I can't hold your feelings against you."

Lana shrugged, "Well, at least I got it off my chest. I don't want to lose either one of you. You're both important to me."

Chloe smirked and walked over to her, "Lana, I'm glad you feel that way, because we are never letting you go." Lana laughed and pushed her away.


	4. Aqua

Clark and Chloe sit on the beach while Clark rubs sun tan lotion on her back. Chloe looks back at Clark, "I think you missed a spot."

Clark looks at her back and asks, "Where?"

She playfully points to her lips and he smiles. He leans forward and they kiss. Evan and Lana roll their eyes in amusement.

A new voice cuts in, "Well, I know what you two did this summer." Clark sighs in disappointment and asks confused, "Lois?"

She smirks, "Oh, don't look so guilty, Smallville. It's about time the love birds flapped their wings."

He gives a fake smile, "What are you doing back?"

Lana asks, "Yeah, we thought you were in Europe 'til the end of the year."

Clark scoffs, "Hoping." He ignores Chloe's scolding stare.

Lana asks, "Are you going to stay at the Talon? The apartment just opened up."

"Actually, I just ran into Mrs. Kent at the Talon and right out of nowhere, she asked if I would like to move back in at the farm."

Clark chuckles, "Yeah, right." He panics slightly, "Really?"

Lois smirks at him, "I know, isn't that sweet? Oh, don't worry. You little snuggle bunnies can hop right on away. I'm a light sleeper. I'm going for a dip."

Clark asks tightly, "Do you think she could sleep through me smothering her with a pillow?"

Chloe gives a mild glare, "Clark, there will be no smothering my cousin as she sleeps. She's family, and you need to accept that."

"Fine. But you know that she will be butting in a lot more now."

"That's a family trait. Where do you think I got it from?"

He shrugged, "Cats are normally curious." She glared and slapped him on the shoulder. "Let's get another hour of sun and then go get some lunch. I don't know where it came from, but I am seriously craving some fish right now."

Lois swims out to the diving platform. She climbs up and walks over to the edge. She turns her back to the water and jumps off the diving platform. As she enters the water, she hits her head on a floating plank. Her head is cut and she's knocked unconscious.

Chloe is lounging face up soaking up the sun. She inhales and sniffs the scents around her. She sniffs and frowns. She sits up and glances out over the lake. "Clark, do you see Lois anywhere?"

Clark looks out and shakes his head. "Why?"

Chloe begins to panic, "I can smell her blood in the water. Something's wrong. She's been under way too long. Go!"

Clark runs to go save Lois. He dives into the water. He goes into super speed under water. Halfway there, someone zips past Clark, knocking him out of the way. Clark looks on as a young man takes Lois into his arms. Clark catches a glimpse of him before he swims off at super speed with Lois.

The young man carries Lois onto the beach, laying her down on the sand. Chloe and Lana ran over in concern, "Is she alright?"

The man sighs, "I'm working on it." He lays her down and begins mouth to mouth on Lois. After a minute, she coughs up water and wakes up. She opens her eyes and focuses on him. He smiles slightly, "Hey." They share a smile. Lois gingerly sits up, holding her head.

He jokes playfully, "Maybe you outta stick to the shallow end 'til you learn how to swim, gorgeous."

She shots back, "Maybe you outta try breath mints, Surfer Boy." The man chuckles at her comeback.

He holds out his hand, "Name's Arthur Curry; my friends call me A.C."

Lana steps in and tells Lois, "Come on. We gotta get you to the hospital." The three of them walk to the car.

Evan walks over and questioned, "Where did Bobby Baywatch come from?"

Clark looks concerned, "I don't know, but he can sure swim fast. I'm guessing mutant." Chloe sniffs and looks confused. Clark notices and asks, "Chloe, what's wrong?"

She turns to him, "This is something else. He has the wrong smell. It's not human or mutant." She shakes her head in confusion and faced Clark, "He literally smells like a fish." The three of them look over as AC helps Lois into Lana's jeep.

A class listens as the professor begins his lecture, "Do you know where the greatest super computer in the world resides?" He points to his head. "Right here. It's the human brain; yet we only use ten percent of it."

Clark runs into the room, arriving late for the class. The professor welcomes him, "Good morning, Mr. Kent. Did we start too early for you?"

Clark looks guilty, "Sorry, I kinda got lost."

The professor sighs, "If there are any other wayward travelers, this is Introduction to World History and I am Professor Milton Fine. Before we delve into my lectures about the Greeks, Romans, and Spartans--all of which I'm sure you'll find very enlightening--let's look at the word history." He emphasized, "History is not about facts. It's about the context and who is telling the story. So, what is history?" He points to a woman in the class, "What is her story?" He turns to Clark, "What is your story, Mr. Kent? How will you affect the world around you for generations to come?"

Clark looks unsure, "I'm not sure you can know that at eighteen."

Fine looks disappointed, "Tell that to Alexander the Great or, to bring it closer to home, Lex Luthor. Now, he's not much older than you are and yet he's turned his father's agro business into a leading defense contractor. He's gone from feeding people to killing them, and yet his story is that he's a white knight who's just put a small Kansas town on the map." He lowered his voice, "Beware of white knights, people. They don't slay dragons. They train them for their own dark purpose. Think of Hitler, Stalin, and Napoleon."

Clark narrowed his eyes and protested, "Lex is not a saint, but I don't think you can put him in the same league as those guys."

Fine smiles slightly, "An honest opinion. I like that."

Lois places a coffee cup under the coffee machine. She then starts staring off into space. She fails to see the cup of coffee is over flowing.

A.C. walks in and notices the spilling coffee. He smirks and comments, "I think it's full."

Lois jumps and quickly turns the machine off. She regains her composure, "Customers like it that way. More bang for their buck."

"I got a buck."

Lois tilts her head, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She smiles and looks over A.C. She walks over and whispers in his ear, "Just use it to get some fashion sense." He watches Lois give the customers their order. "There you go." She walks back to A.C. "You know this whole orange and green thing you got going?" He nods and she finishes, "Looks like Flipper threw up."

A.C. nods, "I'll tell you what. You show me how to dress how you like and I'll teach you how to swim."

She scoffs, "I know how to swim, thank you."

He sighs, "You're welcome, but next time, I might not be there to suck the water out of those pretty lungs."

She glares, "Look, I didn't need you to play paramedic, fish stick, alright? I just had a little bit of water down the wrong pipe."

"You were turning blue."

"It's a good color on me. Look, it was a freak accident, alright? I practically live in the water."

"But, I can swim."

"So can I. I'm a great swimmer. I can swim like a fish."

A.C. challenged, "Prove it."

Fine is walking out to his car. Clark catches up to him. He apologizes, "Professor, I'm sorry to bother you, but I know I got off on the wrong foot. I want to apologize."

Fine told him, "Never apologize. If you're going to show up late, at least do it with conviction, Mr. Kent."

Clark looked at him confused, "How do you know my name?"

"What was the first thing you did the day of orientation?"

"I got my picture taken."

Fine nods, "That photo was in a database, which I checked before the semester began, and that way, I can call my students by their proper names. Helps the learning process." He stopped and faced Clark, "How long have you been friends with Lex Luthor?"

Clark asked defensively, "Friends? Who said we were friends?"

He shrugged, "It's just a deduction. Why else would the son of family farmers be defending such a man?"

Clark sighed, "It's a long story, but Lex's not the man you make him out to be."

"Well, you know, Groucho Marx said there was only one way to find out if a man is honest: ask him. If he says yes, then he must be crooked."

Clark looked amused, "I would think a collage professor would be quoting Karl Marx, not Groucho."

Fine commented, "German philosophy is easy. Comedy's hard. Hey, why don't you come work for me? I've been interviewing research assistants for my new book on Luthor Corp. You could find out the truth about Lex Luthor yourself."

Clark shook his head, "Thanks, Professor, but I'm not really looking for a job right now."

Fine looked at him disappointed, "You know what's worse than the fear of speaking the truth, Mr. Kent? It's the fearing of uncovering it."

Chloe sat in the Talon talking to Lana. Lana was trying to convince Chloe about AC. "I know you and Clark are worried about Lois, but just back off on A.C. Lois deserves someone too."

Chloe sighed, "I know she does, but he can swim faster than Clark which says meteor freak or mutant, and he smells like a walking fish."

"You and Clark work through that together."

"We can both bench press the Blackbird. It's a little different." Seeing Lana look disappointed, "Look, I am not saying I will forbid them to date. I just don't feel it will work out." She printed out a paper detailing A.C. She got up to retrieve the papers. Halfway there, she doubled over in pain.

Lana exclaimed, "Chloe! Chloe, what's wrong?"

Chloe grunted and fell to her knees. She screamed, "Make it stop!" Lana looked around the Talon looking for some kind of noise. Chloe clarified, "Its coming from outside!"

Lana ran to the window and looked around frantically. "I don't see anything!"

Chloe took a deep breath and slowly stood up. "It's alright. It stopped."

Lana asked her, "Chloe, I didn't hear anything."

Chloe looked confused, "You didn't? That means it was on a higher frequency. Only radar is capable of doing that."

Lana sighed and glanced outside, "Then it could have been anywhere."

"And it wasn't directly targeting me." She thought for a moment and grabbed her keys. "Let's take a drive. I want to check out Crater Lake."

Lana and Chloe stepped out of the jeep and walked toward the water. Lana stared in horror and asked, "What could have killed everything like this?"

Chloe picked up a floating fish and looked it over. She noted the bleeding gills and replied, "Only a highly concentrated sonic wave could do this." She stood up and looked west toward the forest. "Guess what is only few miles from here."

Lana sighed, "Luthor Corp. What is Lex doing now?"

"I don't know. But my gut tells me that A.C. has a suspicion of his own." She walked back to the car and told Lana, "Let's get out to the farm. Clark should know what we found out. She dropped the fish and wiped her hand on the grass.

Lex looks over a report from a team scientist. She reports, "With the exception of an unexplained disturbance at the site, today's trial was a complete success."

Lex looks pleased, "Great, send me the tapes. Best parts of my job, watching impossible dreams become reality. How far was the target?"

"Three kilometers away."

He looks impressed, "Three kilometers? That's half a kilometer further than projected."

"Yes, Leviathan is exceeding all expectations across the board."

"If this goes well tomorrow, my associates from the Pentagon are going to want to put Leviathan on every vessel in the fleet."

The woman looks worried, "What about marine life? We still haven't figured out how to protect the…"

Lex interrupts, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Doctor. Nobody's going to miss a couple that goes belly up. Let's get Leviathan back to the lab."

Lois fills up a glass of water from the sink. She hands it to A.C. and they sit next to each other on the couch.

"Here you go."

"Thanks." He takes a long drink from the glass.

Lois suggests, "You know, we really should get you checked out at a hospital."

He shakes his head, "No, I'm cool."

Lois scoffs, "Is that surfer talk for "there's blood coming out of my ears"?'Cause, you know, on dry land that usually isn't a good sign."

"It was probably just an ear infection or something...or just...can we just drop it?"

Lois looks taken back, "Uh, sure." She stands up and feels his forehead.

A.C. asks her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing if you have a fever."

"You really don't listen, do you?"

She smirks, "I try not to. I find it distracting."

"Well, what's the verdict, doc?"

"You're actually a little cold."

A.C. replies playfully, "That's weird. Feeling kinda warm right now."

Lois rolls her eyes, "Does that line ever work on anyone?"

"I figured it was like a one in ten shot, but you're worth the risk."

"You don't even know me."

"What's to know? You're abrasive, sarcastic, and you never shut up."

"Yeah, those are my good qualities." He kisses her. "Look, just because you saved me when I wasn't really drowning, doesn't give you the right to slobber all over me."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be." She kisses him as Clark walks in.

He looks completely stunned, "Lois!"

The two quickly pull away looking embarrassed, "Hey, Smallville."

Clark is talking with Chloe and Lana in the barn, "Lois was all over this guy and all we know about him is he can swim faster than I can."

Chloe nodded, "Well, I took the liberty of looking him up." She handed Clark some papers and gave a few details, "He's a sophomore at the University of Miami; majoring in marine biology. Oh and here's a shocker, he's on the swim team, leaving all of his competition in the wake."

"Does he have a criminal record?"

"Um...yeah. Right here: last year he broke into the Ocean Village Resort."

Lana asked, "What did he steal?"

Chloe smirked, "Eight dolphins. He busted open an underwater fence and released them back into the ocean. It doesn't scream mutant criminal, and it doesn't sound like FBI"s most wanted material to me."

"Maybe it's the only thing he's bee caught for."

Lana objects, "Maybe, but according to all of this, he's never even dipped a fin into Smallville until now. Which sorta shoots down our meteor freak theory."

"He's not the first guy I met who didn't get his abilities from meteor rocks."

Lana nodded, "Bart. But, so far, the only thing we have on Arthur Curry is he saved Lois from being permanently water-logged. Clark, are you sure you're not just upset that someone stole your hero fun day?"

Clark looked unsure, "I don't know what it is about this guy, but I get a bad feeling."

A.C. is drinking a glass of water. Lois chuckles, "You guys, you shoulda seen this guy. It was amazing. I've never seen anybody swim so fast, or drink so much water."

"Keeps my skin soft."

Clark comments, "So, how do you like the University of Miami?"

"You go to school in Miami?"

"Yeah." He looks at Clark cautiously, "How did you know about that?"

"I'm a big fan of collage swimming."

Lana looks skeptical, "Really? Since when?"

Clark answers, "Since Arthur Curry started dominating the sport. So, how did you learn to swim so fast?"

He frowns and shrugs, "I don't know. I guess it runs in the family. My dad operates a light house down south, swims like a lead weight. It must've been my mom with the skills, but she died when I was a baby."

Lois looks at him sympathetically, "A.C., I'm so sorry."

"I'm not going to say it doesn't suck, but you know, growing up by the water was awesome. I probably spent more time in it than out."

Clark questions, "What brings you to the most landlocked spot on the map?"

"Crater Lake. Last few months, a bunch of fish has been dying off. EPA blames it on temperature changes, but I think that is totally bogus."

"Smallville's a long way to go to check on temperature changes."

A.C. becomes defensive, "Not if you care about the world you live in. See, people think that whatever happens in the oceans and lakes doesn't affect their lives, but it does. It's all connected."

"Do you really believe that or is that a pickup line for the girls?"

Lana looks shocked and Lois shouts at him, "Clark!" She pulls him to the side, "Smallville, can I talk to you over here for a minute? There's a cinnamon bun I need your opinion on." When you are alone, she whispers fiercely, "What're you doing? I already have an over-protective dad and I don't need an over-protective brother, especially one who isn't my brother."

"Am I the only one that thinks there's something fishy about this guy?"

"Yes! Now, quit being a jerk." Lois walks back to the others. Lois apologizes, "A.C., I'm sorry about that."

"No, it's cool. I gotta bounce."

"Do you want some company?"

"No, I have a few things I need to take care of by myself." He leaves and Lana and Lois look at Clark.

Clark looks guilty and tells them, "You know what; you're right. I was being a jerk. I'm going to go apologize." He walks out.

Lois seethes, "Lana, I don't know how you or my cousin put up with him."

Clark speeds to Crater Lake and watches A.C. enter a cave. Clark follows him inside.

Through a vent in the floor, A.C. enters a lab. He looks through the Luthor Corp. documents sitting on a table. He looks around and walks to a cloth covering something. He pulls it off and sees the Leviathan weapon

He reaches into his bag, pulling out an explosive device. He sets it to go off. Then he begins to exit through the floor, but he sees Clark in the lab.

Clark sees A.C. and then notices the bomb. He runs over and grabs it. He bends over and the bomb explodes under him. He looks to the vent to find that A.C. has disappeared.

A.C. dives into the water and comes face to face with Clark. A.C. glares and spins his hand through the water. Clark watches in amazement as the water balls up and A.C. thrusts it at Clark. Clark managed to avoid the impact. He speeds forward and pushes A.C through the water. A.C. regains his position and makes another air bubble and launches it at Clark. Clark is taken by surprise and flies out of the water and crashes onto the beach.

A.C. smirks and speeds away.

Clark is drying his hair as Lois came in and questioned, "Thanks for dropping the A-bomb on my date, Smallville. Did you apologize to A.C.?"

"I didn't get a chance to."

Lois sighed in annoyance, "Why not?"

"He was too busy playing terrorist. Lois, I saw him try to blow up some sort of lab."

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"He was trying to destroy private property. It has nothing to do with the way I feel."

"No? Attacking A.C., making up stories. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say somebody is jealous." Lois walks out and A.C. comes out of nowhere.

He asks Clark, "Is she great or what?"

Clark turns and glares, "Arthur."

"Call me A.C. I thought I had the hook up. The way you flack-jacketed that C4. Ah, that was awesome bro!"

"I was just trying to stop a bomb you were going to set off, bro."

A.C. reprimands him, "Well, nice work. Thanks to you, the oceans are one step closer to becoming a graveyard."

"That thing you were trying to blow up, it has something to do with the dead fish?"

"No, not something. Everything. It's a sonar weapon called Leviathan. It emits some kind of focused wave. Packs enough punch to rip a submarine in half."

"How do you know that?"

"I got a peek at some documents at the lab. They had Luthor Corp stamped all over them."

Clark looked reluctant to accept it, "You mean, Lex is trying to develop some sort of weapon?"

"One that also happens to kill any sea life around it. Even when it's on standby. In four hours, he's demonstrating Leviathan for the Pentagon. IF they buy it and start dropping these things in the water, it'll be an ecological disaster. We have to stop him."

"I'll go talk to Lex."

A.C. protested, "There isn't enough time! Come on super boy! With you on the turf and me in the surf, we can stop this thing cold."

"By blowing up his lab?"

"Well, I'm not going to sit back and let this happen, Clark. I was born with an amazing gift and I plan to use it to protect the planet."

He walks off, but Clark super speeds in front of him. He warns, "I'm not going to let you put innocent lives at risk."

"Like your buddy Lex Luthor?"

"He's not my buddy. Not anymore, but I think we can get him to listen."

A.C. yelled, "You think he doesn't know what this thing does? He doesn't care!"

"You wanna work together, then we clear this thing up with Lex. That's the deal."

"Alright, we'll try it your way, Boy Scout. Let's have words with the cue ball."

Clark and A.C. walk into Lex' study as he closed his laptop. "Clark, you got here fast."

"Thanks for seeing us, Lex."

He stands and tells them, "Well, I only have a few minutes. I'm on my way out."

"Yeah, we know bro."

Lex glances at him. "Now, I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

Clark introduces him, "Lex, this is my friend from out of town, Arthur Curry."

Lex offers his hand, but A.C. doesn't take it. He demands, "You have to stop it."

Lex looks at him funny, "Stop what?"

"We know about the weapon you're testing, Lex. I guess the billions you make from agriculture aren't enough."

Lex smirks, "One day of collage and you're already an activist. Clark, the only I'm developing is the kind that fights hunger. My team has been working on a strain of fast growing, high protein kelp…"

"Leviathan has nothing to do with feeding the hungry, Luthor! It's a weapon that will kill everything in the water around it!"

Lex glares and asks, "I'm sorry, who are you, again?"

"Someone who actually cares about the world he lives in."

Clark tells Lex, "You have to shut Leviathan down. There's other ways to defend this country."

"Clark, the days of you barging into my home to give me safe advice are over."

"Lex, whatever our differences, I don't want to see you get hurt! There are people out there who will do whatever it takes to stop you."

Lex shakes his head, "If you think I'm going to bow down to the thuggish tactics of extremists, and then you really don't know me very well."

A.C. looks frustrated, "I told you this was a waste of time." He turns to leave.

"Arthur."

A.C. walks back and gets in Lex' face, "I heard you were a real tool, Lex. I hope you get what you deserve. I'm outta here. I got things to do." A.C. storms from the study.

Lex chuckles, "Your friend's got a bit of an anger problem."

"He gets that way when someone's trying to destroy what he loves."

"Clark, I'm not trying to destroy anything."

Clark looked at him upset, "Lex, don't bother trying to cover it up. The days of me believing your lies are over." Clark turns and leaves. Lex watches him go. Then he opens his laptop back up. He glances interested at the video of A.C.

A.C. walks down the dock and sits down. He puts on a backpack and stands up. He flinches as he is shot in the neck with a tranquilizer dart. He tries to get to the water but falls to the ground.

Lex stands over as a doctor is taking a blood sample from A.C., who is tied down with restraints. He asks weakly, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Lex looks at him and answers, "One, you called me a tool, and two, most people I know need scuba gear to breathe under water."

A.C. is pale, and parts of his skin are cracked and turning a light green. "I'm just good at holding my breath."

Lex walks forward holding a glass of water in his hand. He leans down and holds it at an angle over A.C. "Right, I guess I shouldn't be surprised there's something unusual about you. I mean, you are a friend of Clark Kent's."

"He doesn't know anything about this. How about some water? I'm running a little thirsty."

Lex nods in understanding, "So am I. I have a thirst for knowledge, one that never seems to get quenched. What group are you with? Guardians of the sea?"

"I don't travel with an entourage. Please, I need some water."

"Now, I usually don't deny my guests a drink, but something tells me that if I give you water, you'll bust out of those restraints before the glass is empty. Now, let's try again. How are you able to breathe under water?"

"Shutdown Leviathan. Then I'll tell you everything you wanna know."

A voice announces over a speaker system, "Mr. Luthor, Leviathan is submerged. Your guests are in the viewing room. All systems are ready to go."

"Well, I guess we'll have to pick this up later."

"Please! Please, please. I don't care what you do to me, just destroy that weapon."

Lex looks at him sarcastically, "Wow. Okay, you convinced me. I'll flush a hundred million dollars of R & D down the toilet and put the nation's fleet at risk while I'm at it. You might be a big fish in the water, but up here, I'm the shark."

He dumps the water on the ground just beside A.C. and he walks away. A.C. yells in protest, "No!" He passes out. A few minutes later, Clark super speeds into the lab and sees him coming to. He glances weakly at Clark and whispers, "Water."

Clark looks around quickly and notices the sprinklers. He focuses and a beam of heat hits the sprinklers and water begins spraying over the room. The water revives AC. and he breaks free from the restraints. "I knew I'd find you here. Are you okay?"

He nods, "The water really worked, man. Something's going down. Security's everywhere. I'll never make it through in time."

"You might be able to with a little help."

He hands an ear piece to A.C. and he stares in mild confusion. He puts it in and a moment later he hears, "Hey, Fishman. You got good reception?"

"Yeah." He smiles at Clark, "You're full of surprises, aren't you, Kent?"

"Yeah. You have no idea." He pushed his earpiece, "Lynx, what's the plan?"

Lex stood in front of several military officers. He begins, "Gentlemen, I stand before you humbled by technology that will forever tip the balance of naval power in our favor."

One of the officers commented, "That's a bold claim."

Lex nods and continues, "You'll see with your own eyes. Let the show begin."

The scientist reports, "Activating ranging system. Modulator engaged." Everyone watched as the weapon suddenly exploded and left a large chunk of twisted metal and wires, "What the hell was that?!"

Lex asks angrily, "What's going on?"

The officer scoffs in disappointment, "It looks to me like Mr. Luthor's miracle weapon just self-destructed."

The Scientist yells after them, "Admiral!" She goes to follow him, leaving Lex alone to look at the computer screen. He walks over to the window to see streaks of green and blue dart across the lake.

Lex is on the phone with the military. He nods in disappointment, "Yes, Admiral. I understand. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Lex hangs up and looks over as Clark is let in.

Lex looks at him and mildly jokes, "I thought next time I saw you, you'd be waving some banner at a protest rally outside Luthor Corp."

"You know, Lex. I was thinking I'd write a paper on that high protein kelp you said you were working on. Are there any new developments?"

"Well, it's funny you should ask. The project was derailed by a couple of misguided vandals. The equipment's damaged beyond repair."

Clark sighs, "Maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"Maybe not. Maybe. Say, how's your friend?"

"Arthur? Dunno, haven't seen him."

"Well, if you bump into him, tell him I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

Clark looks at him, "Lex, do you ever stop and think about where you life is heading?"

"All the time. It's a complicated world, Clark. Only the naïve view it in black and white."

Clark stared at him, "You know, the other day, a professor of mine, he accused Luthor Corp. of being evil and you just being short of the devil."

Lex scoffs at him and asked, "Well, you didn't tell him about my pitchfork, did you?"

Clark looks hurt, "I defended you. Guess I am naïve." He walks out as Lex looks at him worried.

A.C. walked into the barn and complimented Clark, "You got some awesome stuff in here, bro."

"Yeah, I got the feeling the ocean floor is a little more interesting."

"And it'll stay that way now, thanks to you."

"Well, I did have some help."

"We do make a pretty good team, huh? Your girlfriend was pretty impressive too. Maybe we should start up a junior life guard association or something."

"I'm not sure we're ready for the JLA just yet. Unless you promise to stop blowing things up."

"As long as Luthor sticks to dry land, I'll keep the sea floor to myself, but if anyone messes with me home..."

"Look, I don't think Leviathan is going to be a threat again, but Lex might. He's seen your abilities. He'll turn the world upside down looking for you."

"The world is 3/4 water. Good luck finding me."

"What about school in Miami?"

"I guess the swim team will have to find another handsome stud."

"Just stay out of trouble, alright, A.C.?"

"Try to get in some, Clark. Stay super, bro." They put their fists together. A.C. leaves.

Clark enters Professor Fine's almost empty classroom to find the professor working on his laptop. He speaks up, "If you dropped my class, I hope you haven't come to apologize."

"You were right about Lex."

Fine nods and tells him, "Of course I was. I'll never lie to you, Mr. Kent. After all, I'm an educator. Truth is my life's work."

"It might be too late, but I was wondering if the research assistant position was still available."

"It is, but I'm not interested in hiring someone who changes their mind as often as they change their clothes."

"Professor, I just can't sit back and watch anymore. And if your book is going to expose the truth about Luthor Corp., I wanna be a part of it."

Fine states, "I expect my research assistants to be smart, thorough, and show up to each and every class."

"I can guarantee it."

"Alright. You know, history shows us that every decision a man makes has an effect on someone's life. You made the right decision, Mr. Kent."

Lois walks down the dock and cracks, "You haven't learned, have you? Orange and green, totally hideous, guy."

"I didn't think you were going to show. I just wanted to say goodbye."

She looks disappointed, "You going to Miami?"

No, I think I'm going to take some time off, float around for a little while, and see where the currents take me."

Lois asks hopefully, "If those currents ever bring you back to Smallville..."

"I don't think that's going to happen. Well, not for a while."

Lois swallows sadly, "Oh." They kiss and A.C. walks Lois back to her car and watches her leave.

A.C. turns to leave as well. "She likes you."

He turns toward Chloe, "I like her. If you are telling me to stay away…"

"I heard. Besides, I wouldn't do that. Lois deserves to be happy." She walks closer to him and continues, "But I think that you may not be her type."

"No offense, but you don't know me that well."

"Not all people can change the fate of an entire culture." A.C. looks at her slightly worried and she assures him, "When you saved Lois, I was able to smell you. You aren't human. I did some research and found a lot of unexplained things in the area you grew up." She pulled out a folder and glanced through it, "For a local surfer, you made the headlines as much as Clark did. And quite a few of them pointed to the Bermuda Triangle. A few conspiracy sites believe that the Triangle is the cover for the lost city of Atlantis."

"You believe those jokers?"

"No. But when a stranger shows up and swims extremely fast and can control water, I tend to make my own hypothesis."

"And that would be what exactly?"

"You are more connected to Atlantis than you think. Legends say that a single son would return to bring peace to Atlantis. I have a feeling that the legends may have more truth than some might believe."

"So I guess that a story would really get your career out of the basement."

"There won't be any story. People aren't ready for a bombshell like that. I also like to keep trust of people I meet."

"So you expect some help in the future from me?"

"Only if you are willing." She held up a cell phone and ear piece. "You may need a little help now and then. You ever need anything, don't hesitate to call." She turned and left.

Clark is in the loft doing some paperwork when Lois enters. "You know, in my first week of collage, the only book I cracked open was the bar tender's guide and even that was the Cliff's notes version."

"Well, I guess we're two different types of students."

"I hope so, for your sake. Look, Clark, I know I got a little thorny when you raised the red flag on A.C."

He tells her sincerely, "I was just trying to look out for you."

"And I appreciate it. I've just never had someone to guide me through the shark infested water of romance, not that I can't fend for myself."

"You know, I think I was wrong about our friend A.C. He was a little misguided; his heart was in the right place."

"Yeah, he was definitely unique. I've known a lot of guys who wanna own the world; I haven't met very many who actually wanna save it. When am I ever going to meet someone like that again?"

He tells confidently, "Lois, I promise someday, you will meet someone even more special."


	5. Incomplete

Chloe ducked under an incoming attack from Logan and shoved a clawed hand up into his armpit. He grunted angrily as she rose swiftly and pushed slightly, sending him across the mat to land hard on his back. She smirked as she came up to him. She looked down at him mockingly, "If this is how you fought Sabertooth, it's no wonder you got thrown off the Statue of Liberty."

Her challenge seemed to anger him further. "I fought worse people than him."

"Name one."

"The Chinese woman that Stryker was controlling."

She scoffed, "You fought against a woman and nearly lost. Guess you're losing your edge." Before she had a chance to react, he had swung his legs into hers, quickly knocking her to the ground. She landed on her back and smirked. "That's more like it." She jumped to her feet quickly and grimaced slightly as a cramp shoot through her back.

Logan paused as he noticed her expression. "You okay, kid?"

She nodded and waved him forward. He obliged willingly and sent a savage jab into her stomach which she countered by swiping her drawn claws across his chest, shredding the shirt and drawing blood. He winced at the pain and looked annoyed, "Besides, I won the fight." He looked troubled, "Although I had to kill her."

She looked concerned, "You're not a murderer, Logan." She lunged forward to punch him. He easily sidestepped and with his claws drawn, sent a jab into her ribcage.

Chloe suddenly felt a burst of agony explode in her side. She screamed in shock and pain. She took a labored breath and glanced down and paled in horror to see her training shirt quickly turning a dark red. She grunted, "I'm bleeding." Her vision abruptly blurred and she shook her head to clear it. She took a step forward and fell toward the floor as she heard Logan's cry of concern at the edge of her consciousness.

*******

Chloe gasped for air and bolted straight up. Logan, Xavier and Ororo all shouted for her to stay back. She let them ease her on to her back and in a weak voice, she asked, "What happened?"

Xavier replied, "I'm not sure. Logan came rushing into the lab in a panic saying you were bleeding uncontrollably. Storm and I rushed in to see you sit up."

Chloe thought to herself, "We were training. I tried to punch him. There was a blinding pain in my ribs, and then I woke up."

Logan explained, "I stabbed at her ribcage, I've done it before. I've never heard her scream when I do it. It scared the crap out of me."

Chloe looks scared, "I felt it. The claws pierced my skin and it hurt. It actually hurt."

Storm comments, "I'm going to give Clark a call."

Chloe shouts panicked, "NO! Please, no! He'll overreact, he also does!"

Logan looks upset, "You're his girlfriend; he has a right to know!"

"I want to know what is happening before I tell him. I'm not sure why, but something is telling me to keep this quiet." She very slowly stands up. "Professor, I think we need to take a look at my DNA."

********

20 minutes later, Xavier leans back from the microscope. The three mutants see his troubled expression and Logan asks, "Come on, Chuck. What's the problem?"

Xavier clears his throat, "If what I'm seeing is accurate, then the cells causing Chloe's mutation are in a state of flux." He paused, "The only other time I have seen this effect was in Senator Kelly."

Ororo pales, "What? Are you sure?"

He nods, "From what I see, the human immune system has recognized the mutated cells as foreign and begun to attack them. It is happening a great deal slower than it happened to the Senator, but it is happening."

Chloe asks curious, "Um, Senator Kelly is the one who was running the anti-mutant campaign two years ago right? What does he have to do with this?"

Logan bluntly stated, "Magneto kidnapped Rogue so she could take his power and use it to power a machine to cause mutations in humans. The process wasn't natural, so his body rejected the change."

Chloe paled, "Where is he now?"

Storm replied softly, "I watched him die."

Chloe swallows and closes her eyes. She asks Xavier, "How long do I have?"

Logan interrupts, "No! You are not giving up like that. No one here will let you!"

Chloe scoffs, "Do you think I want to die?! I want to find a way to beat this." She runs her hands through her hair, "When Kelly was here, I am sure they looked for some way to stabilize or reverse the process. Considering the outcome, I think it's safe to say they didn't!"

Storm states, "Doesn't mean we won't try again."

Chloe sighs, "I know you will. But until you bring me something to try, I need to accept the most likely outcome." She lowers her head and sobs softly, "That I might not make it." She wipes her eyes, "If that's the case, um, I should, um." Her voice breaks, "Call Clark. And Lois." She covers her mouth in realization, "Oh, no, Lois! She doesn't even know I'm a mutant." She blinks away her tears, "Not exactly the best way to tell her, but it has to be done."

********

Storm glanced at Logan as Chloe left the lab. She reassured him, "It's not your fault, Logan. You couldn't have known her cells were breaking down."

He objected, "I noticed she hesitated right before she passed out. If I hadn't been so involved in trying to show her up…"

Storm shut him up, "Logan, you need to stop blaming yourself for things that are beyond your control!"

Logan snapped back, "I should have been able to sense Jean had left, but I didn't! That mistake cost Scott the woman he loved! Now I ignored a warning sign in Chloe which as a result is going to cost Clark the woman he loves!" He stops and closes his eyes, "Ever since I came to this school, I've caused more damage than good!"

"I would normally agree, but that's a load of crap!" The two of them turn to see Scott standing in the door. He explained, "Logan, I know you don't like me. To be honest, the feelings mutual. You've done a lot to help us over the past couple years. Rogue would be dead if it hadn't been for you."

Logan sighed, "I bring trouble wherever I go."

Scott started to object again when Chloe laughs loudly behind them. They turn to see her in the doorway; her feline façade clearly visible. "Of course you do! You're the Wolverine! An animal that causes mayhem and chaos! It's in your nature. You can't fight it."

Logan tenses in anger and Scott intervenes, "Chloe, that's not necessary."

She sniffs and looks at him derisively, "Oh come now, Summers. I can feel the contempt you have for Logan." She walks up to him like a predator, "I know how you feel. You are angry at him." All three grew unsettled as her voice mimicked Jean, "He wanted her to himself. You were an obstacle. If she were still alive, he would try to kill you to have her!"

Storm shouted, "Chloe that is uncalled for!"

Chloe glared at her for an instant and then seemed to understand what she had said. She took a trembling breath and whispered softly, "Scott, I…I'm so sorry!" She turned and ran to the doors and left.

********

Chloe ran through the streets completely ashamed. She cried to herself as feelings of pain shouted through her system. She came to a small alley and ducked inside. She muttered, "Found dead in an ally. Quite a finish."

She grunted as pain resonated in the El tattoo. She growled in anger, "Back off, Jor-El! I don't need you to make my end worse!"

After a moment, his voice replied in her head. _Explain your anger toward me, Chloe Sullivan._

She bellowed, "My cells are breaking down. I'll probably be dead in a few hours, maybe a day."

_There should be no cellular degradation. Your mutation was carefully designed. It has no harmful side effects._

She scoffs annoyed, "Hate to break it to you, but your careful design is flawed. My cells are dying."

After a pause, Jor-El makes a suggestion. _If you are willing, come to the Fortress. I can better understand your situation from there._

Her face shows her fear, "I can't tell Clark about this."

_You must come alone, Chloe Sullivan. Any other presences could interfere in the diagnostic. Are you willing to undergo an examination?_

She sighs, "It's better than dying, isn't it?" She glances over as a warm light shines from a wall. She grimaces as she climbs to her feet and walks over into the portal.

*********

Xavier gasped and snapped his head back in pain. He blinked rapidly and pulled off the Cerebro helmet. He took several breaths and calmed down. He left the room and glanced at the worried trio. "I had managed to locate her general location, but I suddenly lost her signal. I can't explain it. She simply seemed to vanish."

Storm paled in horror. "Oh, no! You don't think she's dead, do you?!"

Xavier hesitated, "I am afraid that we may need to consider the possibility that she succumb to the degradation." He paused and glanced at Scott, "Scott, prepare the jet. I am not going to tell Clark and his parents about this over the phone."

Logan swallowed, "I'll go with him. I'll tell them about this."

Scott nods, "We'll leave in 15 minutes."

Logan nods in understanding. He sighs, "I'm going to go talk to the kids. They should know about this."

Logan walked down the hall and entered the den. He saw Marie, Kitty and Jubilee having lunch in the corner. He sighed and walked over and sat down. Marie smiled briefly, "Hey, Logan." She saw his expression, "What's going on?"

He asked sadly, "Is Bobby around?"

She narrowed her eyes and the others now knew something was off. "No, he's at the Mall with Peter and Bart. Logan, what's going on?"

He looked at her seriously, "Did you remember what happened to Senator Kelly after Magneto mutated him?"

"Yeah, vaguely. His body couldn't handle the change; killed him."

He nodded, "Well, it seems that somehow, a similar rejection happened in Chloe."

All three women opened their mouth in horror. Kitty demanded, "What?! Chloe's mutation isn't natural? How is that possible; she's had it for months? Why would it suddenly happen now?!"

Jubilee looked ticked off, "You guys didn't think to tell us about this sooner?! Chloe is our friend; we had a right to know!"

Logan snapped, "Clark hasn't even been told about it! Don't lecture me on what we should have to tell you!"

Marie realized something, "Wait, you said it happened to Chloe, not it was happening. Is Chloe dead?!"

Logan replied calmly, "Chuck was trying to find her with Cerebro when he lost her signal. It just disappeared." Everyone sat quietly as that sunk in.

Kitty glanced at Logan, "Are you going to be the one to let Clark know?"

"Yeah."

She continued, "If I were you, I'd take a chunk of green with you."

He scoffed, "I don't think even that would help."

*********

Chloe appeared in the Fortress and looked confused. She extended a claw and winced in pain. She retracted it and grew confused when the skin didn't heal. She commented, "Jor-El, what did you do? I'm not healing."

_I have removed the damaged DNA from your system. I have reviewed the samples and it appears that your cells were not completely activated. The attack that General Stryker orchestrated only turned on the mutant DNA that caused the healing and enhanced senses. The metamorphic and Kryptonian DNA sequence remained partially dormant._

Chloe looked shocked, "Metamorphic? Kryptonian DNA? You made me part Kryptonian with the ability to change shape?"

_You are Kal-El's betrothed. While humans have many similarities with us, they are genetically incompatible. You needed to be equal to Kal-El._

"So you altered my DNA to have powers similar to Clark." She asked confused, "But am I going to have super speed, heat vision, any of his natural powers?"

_Like I said before, humans are incompatible. As in the case of Jonathan Kent, his body was weakened after the temporary power he had to retrieve Kal-El._

"You don't want my system to fail. Makes sense. So what happens now? Are you going to simply have me wait until the gene naturally activates?"

_No. I have seen you have a positive effect on my son. I have decided to redo the process. It will take one hour._

Chloe asks, "Will I feel pain? I think it will be better to blend in if I show normal pain responses."

_That seems acceptable._ Chloe glances over as a crystal alcove opened to her left. _This chamber will accommodate you for the change. It is painless, and you will have no concept of being enhanced._

********

Scott and Logan walked out of the jet and looked around the farm. Logan sniffed and slumped his shoulders, "Great. Clark is here." He glanced at Scott, "I'll go tell him."

"If you need backup, let me know."

"No problem."

Scott watched Logan walked up to the farmhouse and went inside. He stood there for a few minutes waiting. He heard the sound of an argument. His eyes widened as the door splintered as something slammed through the wood. The object slid several hundred feet through the dirt. He glanced over and paled when he realized it was Logan. He ran over and turned him over. He sighed relieved as he saw the skin slowly healing. He turned as Clark speed up with a look of pure fury. "Why didn't you call me when you found out?!"

Scott swallowed nervously, "She didn't want you to worry about it. Her exact words, I swear, Clark! She wanted to understand what was happening first."

He snapped, "Well, she's now missing; maybe dead!"

"I will find her personally." They looked down at Logan who was slowly attempting to stand. "I started this whole mess; I'll clean it up."

Clark glared, "Fine. But if you don't find her soon, I won't be happy." He calmed himself, "And Logan; I'm sorry for punching you."

Scott raised an eyebrow; it still surprised him how powerful Clark truly was.

*********

Scott followed Logan into the caves. "Logan, why are we going to a cave? We should be looking for Chloe."

Logan replied tensely, "Well, Cyclops, if you had taken up the tour offer Chloe gave last month instead of sulking around the mansion, you would have known that the caves are where she learned about the origin of her mutation."

Scott glared through the visor but gave in, "Okay. Fill me in then."

"Long story short, Kent's biological father, some punk named Jor-El, meet a couple mutants in the sixties. He took some DNA and created a mutant gene that stayed in Chloe's family line. It was supposed to turn on when Clark reached a certain point. But instead, Stryker stole Cerebro and attacked mutants."

Scott finished, "And the attack turned it on."

Logan came to a small cave and indicated the DNA helix on the wall. "And consequently signed Chloe's death sentence." He shouted up to the ceiling loudly, "Jor-El! I'm here for Chloe Sullivan! I need to know what's happening to her!"

Silence returned his outburst. Growling, he bellowed louder, "JOR-EL! Maybe to you, she was a failure, but Sullivan is a decent kid! Your son loves her; and an entire house full of people care if she dies, so you show your miserable face!" To emphasize his threat, he drew his claws and slashed a chunk out of the cave wall. "I'll tear this place to the ground if I have to!" He glanced at Scott, "A little backup?"

Scott sighed and reluctantly turned as he took off his glasses. A giant burst of red light shot out but stopped short of the wall. The burst of energy and light quickly faded and Scott blinked in confusion. "What?! It's gone?"

_You are both irritatingly persistent._

Scott glanced around in surprise, "Who said that?"

Logan smirked, "That would be Jor-El."

_I know that Chloe Sullivan considers you trusted associates. But then again, earning trust was always second nature to you, Logan._

That surprised Logan, "What? What do you mean?"

_How do you think I obtained DNA from a mutant that could heal?_

Scott asked, "Wait, you meet Logan in 1960? How is that possible?"

_I meet James Logan Howlett long before the adamantium was fused to his skeleton. But that is another matter. Chloe Sullivan is safe in the Fortress._

"Then bring her back."

_In due time, Logan. The modifications are almost complete. The damage has been removed and she will be returned to the location I brought her from._

Logan demanded, "What modifications?" He swore to himself when he was met with silence. He glanced at Scott, "Come on, let's get back to the mansion. I think Chloe will be returning shortly."

They left the cave and called Clark to have him meet at the mansion. As Scott left the cave, the optic blast suddenly resumed and he quickly put the glasses back on.

********

A flash lights up an alley for a second. When it faded, Chloe is laying face first on the ground. She awakens with a jolt and glances around. She narrows her eyes and slowly gets up. She looks over her hands and tenses her hands briefly. She winces painfully as clear white claws extend from her fingertips. She retracts them and clenches her fists. She gasps in surprise and pain as claws similar to Logan's extend from her knuckles. She notices that the color matches the crystals in the Fortress. She retracts them and watched as the skin healed instantly. She thought to herself about what Jor-El had told her. She looked around for a mirror and found one in an old box. She pictured Logan in her mind and her face quickly faded into his. She smiled excitedly and changed to Storm and then back to her.

She hurried back to the mansion and snuck in carefully. She sniffed and picked up Bobby's scent. She changed into Marie and walked around the corner. "Hey, Bobby, have you seen Logan?"

He shook his head, "No. Peter and I just got a message from the Professor to come back as we could. Is everything all right?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

They turn to see Clark speed into the hall. He asked worried, "Have either of you seen Chloe? Is she alright?"

'Marie' rolled her eyes. "Good to see you too, Clark. Don't worry, she's nearby." She walked to him and pulled him into a kiss.

Clark's eye went wide and he pushed her away gently, "Rogue, what are you doing?!" He sent a worried glance at a shocked and angry Bobby. "Bobby, I'm sorry!"

'Marie' smiled appreciatively, "Only got eyes for Chloe, huh? Thought I might test the waters." The walls to the labs opened to reveal Marie, Storm and Xavier walking out. Bobby and Clark glanced back confused and alarmed. Marie paled as she looked at herself as Chloe beamed excitedly. "Quite a shock, huh, Marie?"

Marie glared as she stormed forward and placed her hand on her face. She held it there taking the power and suddenly looked apologetic as she suddenly yanked her hand away, "Oh, crap, Chloe! I'm sorry!"

Bobby and Clark both repeated confused, "CHLOE?!"

Everyone watched as Marie's face shifted to Chloe and she smirked, "Surprise!" She glanced at Clark, "Compliments of your dear old dad!"

Clark's eyes widened in confusion, "He made you a metamorph?"

"Yeah." She clarifies, "The DNA was incomplete because of the attack at Alkali Lake. But, thankfully, Jor-El was able to correct the damage and enhance my mutation. The feline façade wasn't the full change. From what Jor-El showed me to train me in using my gifts, a mutual blue friend snuck into the caves a few months ago. He extracted some DNA and grafted it into the original mutation."

Everyone looked relieved and Marie hugged Chloe carefully, "Well, I am glad you're okay. Logan will be relieved to see you're okay."

Chloe nodded and glanced at her scheming, "Well, once Logan and Scott get back, the four of us are going to the caves in Smallville."

She looked worried, "To do what?"

"I have a surprise for the three of you."

***********

Scott and Logan followed Chloe and Marie into the Lynx chamber. Chloe stated, "Jor-El modified me from a chamber in the Fortress. I was thinking about that whole process, and while I can't make heads or tails of it, I realized that others can be modified as well."

Logan scoffed, "You want to modify us? How?"

"Well, Marie and Scott can't really control their powers." She looked at Logan sheepishly, "And I think Jor-El copied your memories." Logan looked shocked and she continued, "It is up to when he meet you in the sixties; so the adamantium and meeting Stryker won't be there, but at least you would know who you really are."

He nodded, "I'm ready for it."

Marie asked, "How would my power be changed, Chloe?"

She shrugged, "Well, Jor-El is only enhancing it, so maybe you will have control of the leeching ability; you'll have to ask him."

She glanced at the wall, "Can we go now?"

"You can go now. It has to be done alone. But don't worry; Jor-El will have me and Clark to answer to if something happens."

Marie nodded and nervously glanced at the wall as she walked forward. A flash of light flared up and she disappeared. They waited for a couple minutes and she reappeared. She glanced around, "That was it? I wasn't even there five minutes!"

Chloe held up her hand and suggested, "Touch me." Hesitant, Marie pulled off her gloves as she reached out and touched her hand. Nothing happened and Marie smiled happily. She grabbed Logan's hand as well, "Logan, I can touch you!"

He smiled at her, "That's great, kid."

Chloe pressed, "Try to get a power."

She squeezed Logan's hand and the skin between them shriveled in the telltale sign of her power. Logan commented, "I felt that, but it wasn't painful like it was before." He extended a claw and cut her arm lightly. A thin line of blood appeared for a second, but quickly healed.

Chloe asked, "Logan, you ready to get your memory back?"

He nodded, "Yeah." He walked over quickly and disappeared.

Chloe glanced at Scott, "You seemed upset; you okay?"

He replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I appreciate your offer, but I can make do with how I am. I don't need any enhancements."

Chloe nodded understandingly, "No problem." Scott nodded as turned to leave the cave. Chloe called after a moment, "Scott?" He glanced back and she told him, "If you ever change your mind, the offer is always on the table. I promise."

He sighs and nods as he leaves. The women turn back as Logan reappears in the cave. Both see the look of anger and confusion he has. Marie asks concerned, "Logan, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

He glances at them, "Yes and no."

Chloe asks, "Do you remember?"

"Yeah." He looks at Marie conflicted as he tells them, "Victor Creed. Sabertooth was my brother."


	6. Exposed

Chloe glances down as her cell rings. She sees it is Logan and she rolls her eyes. She answers, "Hey, Wolvie."

She smirked at his irritated tone at the nickname, "I know it's late, but I was wondering…"

She sighs, "Logan, I told you before; I am doing everything in my power to locate Creed."

Logan sounds upset, "You've been looking for a week! You're telling me you haven't found anything?"

Chloe unconsciously growls, "Logan, I am working round the clock to stay off of Lex's radar, handle the assignments at the Planet and after your recall, trying to find your illegitimate half brother!" She lowers her head fatigued and is quiet for a minute. "Logan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you. But please cut me some slack, okay, old man? You're not the one who has a hundred and sixty years of newspaper articles to sift through. To set your mind at ease, I have come across a possible lead." She pulled up an article, "I found an old interview from a 'Nam veteran. It's not too clear, but the gist is that two soldiers were sentenced to death."

"For what?!"

"One of them tried to force himself on a woman in a local village. The commanding officer tried to stop him, and as a result, the soldier took his head off with his bare hand."

She hears Logan's sadness, "Sounds like Victor's temper. He always gave in to his impulses."

"I tried to look up the names of the soldiers, but not surprisingly, the records are closed and have been deemed above classified. However, the veteran did describe a pair of men, who had some kind of claws, one from his knuckles and the other from his fingers."

"So, Victor and I fought together until Vietnam. What made him leave?"

Chloe shrugged, "Logan, you may have bouts of aggression, but we both know you can control yourself." She paused and continued, "Somehow, I don't think Victor would be the one to walk away."

Logan sighed, "Well, maybe something you dug up could wrestle free a few old memories." He sounded thankful, "Thanks, kid."

She smiled and teased, "You're welcome, old man." She sniffed and glanced up as the lobby door opened and Lois walked in with armful of books, "Um, something has come up, Logan; I'll talk later?"

"Yeah, good night, Lynx."

Chloe hung up and smiled tightly. "Hey, Lois! I'm glad you could come; how are you?"

"Good, except for being awake past midnight. What was so important it couldn't wait for morning?"

The smile faded and she cleared her throat, "Um, I wanted to talk to you privately. And with your classes and my internship, the days are pretty full lately." She chuckled anxiously, "Plus I've been rehearsing this conversation for the past week."

Lois slowly put the books on the desk, "Okay, that doesn't sound good." She glanced over and sensed her cousin's nervousness. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." She turned her chair toward Lois fidgeting, "Last week, I had a close call in New York. It really shook me up, and what scared me the most was that you wouldn't have known what had really happened."

Lois scowled and pulled up a chair. She stated worried, "Chloe, you're scaring me a little; what's going on?"

She started to answer when the office phone rang and Chloe scoffed, "I'm sorry." She picked up, "Daily Planet info line… Obituaries, yeah sure, let me transfer you. Oh, dog obituaries? I'm sorry; we don't actually run those. Yeah, ok, you're welcome."

She glanced to Lois, "I don't like lying to you, Lo. I want you to know who I am. All of who I am."

"Chloe, I know you were hired by McCoy as his assistant. I saw some pay stubs from his office."

Chloe pressed, "But there is more to my employment than my natural reporter's nose."

Lois asked sarcastically, "Are you two dating on the side?"

Chloe's eyes widened, NO!" Lois chuckled and Chloe rolled her eyes. She inhaled deeply and blurted out, "Hank McCoy is a mutant, and so am I."

Lois lifted her head, still amused. She replied jokingly, "Sure." She chuckled and glanced behind her, "Is Smallville here? Are you two trying to prank me?" She turned back to see Clark where Chloe had been sitting. She nodded knowingly, "I knew it."

'Clark' replied, "When you were 16, you tricked me into getting Uncle Sam out of his office for a few minutes so you could get his credit card for a shopping spree to Bloomingdales."

Lois momentarily paled but then looked annoyed, "Leave it to Chloe to tell you one of our secrets."

Chloe reverted to normal, "I've never told Clark any of our secrets, Lois."

Lois yelped in shock and nearly fell off the chair. "Whoa! What in the world?!" She took several breathes and calmed herself, "Did you just…"

She finished as she morphed into Lois and back to Chloe, "Shape shift. It's one of my abilities."

Lois stammered, "You have more than one?!"

She nodded and looked at her comfortingly, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great!" She stood up and started pacing. After a minute, she asked, "What are your other powers?"

She leaned forward, "I can heal rapidly. My senses are heightened, particularly my hearing and smell. I have virtually limitless strength, and my bones are able to form any kind of claw or blades."

She looked horrified by the last one, "Can you show me what you mean by that?"

Chloe nodded and held up her hand. Lois watched as thin razor sharp talons forced through the skin of Chloe's fingertips until they stopped at almost six inches. Lois jumped slightly as they quickly retracted themselves and the skin healed up.

Chloe put her hand down and explained, "Lois, last week, I almost died. A colleague of McCoy checked on my DNA and discovered my cells were unstable. Fortunately, they managed to stop the damage and stabilized my system. Since then, I have been thinking of a way to tell you about it." She looked down upset, "I know you're probably angry for being lied to."

Lois nodded, "It's a lot to take in." She looked suspicious and eyed her cousin, "Chloe?"

Chloe closed her eyes regretfully as she answered, "Clark did know."

She exhaled exasperated, "The farm boy knew about you before your own family?!"

Lois paled and clammed up at the flash of orange in Chloe's eyes as she growled harshly, "Don't you dare demean Clark like that!" She bites her lip and shut her eyes briefly after which the tint was gone, "I am sorry. McCoy informed me that I have become extremely sensitive in regards to my friends and family. Since he's my boyfriend, I am extremely protective of him."

Lois nodded, "And what about me and the General?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows cautiously, "If anyone touched the two of you, I would rip them apart."

Lois commented, "I know you would protect us."

Chloe replied meekly, "Actually, I was being literal."

Lois looked shocked, "Wow. Well, remind me never to introduce you to any new boyfriends."

The phone rang as she confirmed, "Smart move for their sake." She picked up, "Daily Planet info line."

She straightened as a panicked woman demanded, "I need a reporter to meet me."

"Who is this?"

The woman repeated urgently, "I wanna talk to a reporter. You have to send someone fast before he finds me. Seventh and Edgemont. Please, you gotta hurry."

Chloe nods, "We're on it." She hung and grabbed her keys, "I have to go."

Lois commented, "I'm coming with you."

****

Lois glanced around the dark alley, "We couldn't have met her at a coffee shop?"

Chloe stated in a business like tone, "I don't think she was looking for a brunch date, Lois. Sounds like she had a story someone didn't want her to tell."

"I thought you were supposed to pass on any real leads to someone whose cubicle was actually above ground."

"Well, unless I want to stay subterranean my whole career I've gotta take a chance. Hank's pull only got me in the door."

She sniffs and turns to see a woman in a fancy evening gown running toward them. The woman sounds terrified, "Please! Help me!"

"There she is."

"HELP!"

Lois shouts to her, "Over here!"

Chloe and Lois make it to her when a man suddenly materializes behind her. Chloe orders, "Drop to the ground!" The woman complies and Chloe extends her claws and swipes at the man. He grunts in pain and slams his hands in Chloe's stomach. She screams in agony as she glances down in shock and disbelief at the full length sword blade lodged through her ribs. She glares at the man and plunges her claws into his chest. Her hope fades as the wounds healed up as fast as she could. He tilts his head mocking and waggles his finger scolding. She demands, "Lois, get her out of here!"

The man glares now and grabs at Chloe's neck. Chloe gasps in surprise as her vision turned to black for an instant and she suddenly realized their position had changed. They were now about 50 feet from Lois and the woman. She looked at the attacker and saw only a red leather mask. The man stated coldly, "I always finish a job." Chloe's stomach froze as the man teleported away. She broke into a run for the two women even as she saw the man appear behind the woman. Chloe paled as the man's eyes suddenly unleashed a barrage of red energy at the woman who screamed briefly in agony and fell to the ground, smoke rising from the burn on her back. The man glanced at her coming and teleported away. She growled to herself but focused her attention on the woman.

Lois glanced up in shock after checking for a pulse, "She's dead, Chloe."

Chloe exhaled sadly, "Great. A dead girl and a mutant assassin." She smiled ruefully at Lois, "Welcome to my life."

********

Clark lifts a large bale of hay into the back of the truck as Jonathan asks him, "So how much longer do I have you before you hightail it back to Metropolis?"

He shrugs, "Well, Chloe's busy for the weekend. She's at the Planet doing research for Logan."

"How about Lana or Lois?"

"Well, Lana is juggling her classes. And Lois." He scoffs, "I'd do anything to get rid of Lois. I don't think that's exactly a pre-req for best friend status."

"Well…" The two stop and glance up as an older Camaro comes racing down the farm drive. Jonathan smiles to himself and hands Clark his tools. "Hold this." He walks forward in front of the car.

Clark sees the car isn't slowing down and starts to move in front of him, "Dad?" Jonathan simply stops Clark and waits. At the last moment, the car swerves sideways and skids up to the two men with a few inches left.

Jonathan leans down to see the driver and glances down where the car has stopped. He asks tauntingly, "Is that the best you got? I had another six inches out here."

Clark hears the man scoff and he gets out of the vehicle. "I wasn't sure how rusty your reflexes had gotten."

Clark smiles warmly, "Senator Jennings!"

Jack rolls his eyes at the formal greeting, "I know it's been a long time, but what happened to 'Uncle Jack'?"

Clark replies, "Doesn't seem fit for someone who's on a first name basis with the governor."

Jack hugs Clark as he states, "I don't seem to remember the governor winning a state football championship. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

Jack glances suspiciously at Jonathan, "I don't suppose anybody pushed you to follow in his footsteps?"

"Hey, it's a lot better than spending the football games underneath the bleachers with the sheriff's daughters."

Jack raises his eyebrows suggestively, "Not both of them at once."

Jack opens the trunk and grabs a campaign board. Clark and Jonathan move to help, "Since when do you make the trek all the way out here in the middle of a campaign?"

"Exactly why I came. I needed a breather from the rat race. Besides, I can use your help rallying the farmers. You gotta lotta pull with that union."

Jonathan looks confused, "Why? You always win this county by a landslide."

He sighs and answers gravely, "Well, the race is about to get a lot tougher. Rumor has it: I'm running against Lex Luthor."

Both Clark and Jonathan tense up and exchanged a panicked look.

**********

Lois and Chloe sit talking to a detective, "Let me get this straight, no ID or description on the perpetrator, and no clue why this girl called." She smirks sarcastically, "I'd say you're off to a great start as an investigative reporter Miss Sullivan. If you remember anything else, let me know."

Lois glares and accuses, "I think that's code for, 'We're gonna file this under the rug.'"

The detective sighs, "Look, this is a big city, and bad things happen. A pretty young girl, not in college, with no traceable job…in that part of town. It's not a mystery what happened down there."

Lois asks tensely, "You don't think it's strange that an alleged streetwalker was wearing $500 Jimmy Choo shoes?"

Chloe steps in quickly, "Look, Detective Sawyer, this girl died trying to tell me her story. Now I'm sorry I'm not street-hardened, but she's way more than a statistic to me. I have to find out who did this."

She softens slightly, "I applaud your spirit, girls. But you should know that most of those streets turn out to be dead ends. I will do my job. You do yours." They watch as Sawyer leaves.

Lois turns to Chloe, "Hopefully you'll have more luck than Officer Stalin. I mean, you probably deal with things more dangerous than this on a daily basis; which by the way is kind of unsettling for me."

Chloe nods and walks over to her computer, "Yeah, I'll tell you some stories later." She pulls up a window, "Anyway, I ran the number that Melissa girl called from. It was from a payphone right near where we saw her. But the only addresses within a ten-block radius are a bunch of warehouses." She smirks slyly, "And a club called the Windgate."

"I'm guessing she didn't get all glammed up to count inventory."

Chloe shifts into a tough looking body guard façade. "Let's go clubbing, shall we?"

**********

Clark is smiling excitedly while Jack sat talking, "So your dad outran four cop cars and pissed off half the chicken farmers in Chicksaw County."

Jonathan rolls his eyes and objects cheerfully, "It's only because you said you knew a shortcut!"

Clark comments, "See, these aren't the sides of the stories that I hear. You got any more of these? They'll become very useful next time I'm in for a lecture."

Jack laughs as Jonathan protests, "No, I don't think…" He stops and walks to the door when someone knocks. "Hang on. Don't you say anything else! Just a second!" He opens the door and sees Detective Sawyer. His expression turns serious, "Good afternoon, officer. Can I help you?"

"Maggie Sawyer, Metropolis P.D."

"Hi."

"May I come in?"

He looks worried, "Uh, yeah, sure, c'mon in."

She nods thankfully, "Thank you." She looks over at Jack, "Senator. Campaign headquarters said I could find you here."

"What can I do for ya?"

"A young woman was killed in the warehouse district last night. Murder. We went through her apartment and we found this." She holds up photo with girl and senator. "Now I don't have enough evidence to bring you in for questioning but I would certainly appreciate an explanation."

He glances at the photo confused, "So would I. I've never seen her before."

She raises an eyebrow, "Well that must have been tricky while she was cuddled up on your lap. With all due respect, senator, pictures don't lie."

Jonathan objects, "Hang on just a minute. In this day and age they certainly do. This pictures a fake."

Jack sighs dejectedly, "Doesn't matter. The minute it hits the press the damage is done. This could ruin me."

Jonathan looks angry, "So it looks like the mud slinging has already started."

Clark looks hesitant, "Dad, do you really think Lex would go this far?"

"C'mon Clark, you know Lex Luthor better than anybody. He's not gonna enter a race unless he's sure he's gonna win it."

*********

Clark walks into the study and asks annoyed, "Is it true Lex?"

Lex states amused, "You know after you've been MIA for weeks; I don't think a hello is too much to ask for."

He demands, "How long have you been planning to run for state senate?"

He replies, "Several months now and if you're implying I should have told you, you might wanna rethink the barrier you've drawn in this friendship."

Clark looks at him upset, "I can't believe you'd destroy someone, just to win a race."

Lex smirks, "There's a reason they call it a 'race', not a 'political potluck.' But if you think I had something to do with this..."

He interrupts, "Lex, your competition was linked to the murder of a young girl just before you announce your candidacy. It's a bit of a coincidence, don't you think?" He tossed the photo to Lex. "You honestly don't recognize that picture."

Lex looks at the pictures for a moment, "The only thing I recognize is the booth. It's the Windgate Gentleman's Club in Metropolis. Not a smart stop-off for an incumbent on the campaign trail."

Clark calms down, "Look, I know this guy. And if you're not trying to set him up, somebody is. Maybe it's somebody at this club."

Lex leans forward and gives the picture back to Clark, "Clark, there's a reason that club's so far underground. All right, the city doesn't exactly give licenses for some of the things that go on there. Are you sure you wanna get involved in this?"

He replies, "Jack's like an uncle to me. And in case you've forgotten, that's what friends do for each other."

Lex stands and walks to a shelf and opens a briefcase. "Look, if you're serious about getting through that front door, you're gonna need a little more than your drivers license." He pulls out a VIP pass for the Windgate and hands it to Clark. "Do me a favor. Stay out of trouble."

**********

Chloe and Lois pull into the warehouse district of Metropolis and puts in park. They look around confused. Chloe sighs, "I guess even Map Quest has its limitations. Do you get to this place through a manhole cover?"

Lois glances over at an older building with two men in suits flanking a door. "Or a big neon door. I'd say the Armani suits a dead giveaway."

Chloe glances at Lois "Follow my lead."

They get out of the car and walk up to the guards. They are stopped at the entrance as the guard sees Lois. "Sorry, no girls."

Chloe states upset, "Hey, my friend's already in there." She indicates Lois, "It's her only night in town and I promised I'd take her to the hottest address. Don't leave a brother hanging."

Lois manages not to laugh. The guard shakes his head, "Sorry, my man, but it's a private club. So I'm afraid this is as much of the club as she's going to see."

She sighs and nods, "No problem. See you around."

They leave and walk around the building. Lois repeats amused, "Don't leave a brother hanging.' I swear, that is classic."

Chloe glares at her, "Look, we need to find a way in."

They look over as a man leads two women to a door. He is scanned with a retinal id and the two women go inside. The man then closes the door.

Chloe changes into a taller version of herself with bleached blonde hair. However, she puts a scar on her right arm. She goes to the door and knocks. The man opens the door, "What?"

"Hey, could I get in? I'm interested in dancing." She leans close to him, staring deep into his eyes, "I can dance really well."

He looks her over and notices her shoulder, "We don't take damaged goods."

Chloe's eyes go wide in anger, "Damaged goods?! I'll have you know…" She is cut off by the door slamming in her face.

Lois walks up and tells, "It was a good attempt, cuz."

"That wasn't the attempt."

Lois asks confused, "It wasn't?"

"Nope. That was just getting our VIP Pass." She walks to the ID scanner and her eyes shift to the bouncers. The door clicks open, "I needed to see his eyes. I don't like guessing; could cause problems."

***********

Chloe holds up a short skirt and bra, "This makes my Halloween Heidi costume look tame."

"So you think that Melissa girl was a dancer here?"

Chloe drops the costume and shrugs, "I don't know. Her Jimmy Choos are a long way from angel wings and fishnets. Excuse me. Hi. Uh, do you guys know anything about a woman named Melissa Page?"

The other dancers look frightened and all leave. Chloe observes, "Interesting. Complete terror."

The two of them walk to a closed and enter a private room. "If the people won't talk, the records definitely will. If she worked here she'll be on file."

Chloe and Lois turn toward the door as a man walks in. "Joel, David, c'mon up. Are you ladies lost?"

Lois stammers timidly, "Um, we were just looking for, uh…"

Chloe steps in quickly, "Oh, don't be shy. She's here to dance."

He eyes Lois suspiciously, "Are you the replacement Rocco sent over?"

Chloe nodded earnestly, "Yeah, he really hated to see her go."

The man orders Lois, "Take your clothes off. Let's see what you got." Lois's eyes go wide and she turns and glares at Chloe who raises her eyebrows cautiously.

********

Lex knocks on the kitchen door and Jonathan walks up. He hesitates but opens the door. Lex states casually, "I knocked. I guess you didn't hear."

He retorts, "Oh, I heard you."

Lex sighs, mildly hurt. He explains, "I'm here to see Senator Jennings."

Jonathan glares at him, "Lex, if you wanna sling some mud I strongly recommend you do it at someone else's house."

"Don't worry. I'm not holding my breath for your vote."

Jonathan scoffs annoyed, "You know I've never liked you all that much Lex, but even I'm surprised by the depths you're willing to sink to."

"And I'm sure you have such a good view of it all from your pulpit. "Holier-than-thou" is an easy fallback Mr. Kent. It keeps you from really looking at the people around you."

Jonathan moves closer to Lex, "I've known Jack for over 25 years and I've never had a more trustworthy or loyal friend. This state needs somebody like him. Somebody who's willing to stand by their word. Somebody's who willing to do what's right for everybody, not just for himself. Somebody's whose willing to go up against people like you."

Lex smirks and pulls out some paper, "Well, if you know him so well, maybe you should ask your good old boy to explain this to you. After Clarks visit I decided to look into the Senators unfortunate snapshot myself. It's his cell phone record. Seems he's been calling his dead stripper friend a little more than frequently."

Jonathan swallows worried as he glances at the list, "When are you releasing this?"

Lex replies evenly, "I'm not. But if I found it, you know the press won't be far behind. I thought he'd like a heads-up."

*********

Chloe glances at her watch and rolls her eyes, "Lois, are you almost done? You didn't have that much to put on."

"You know, remind me when this is all over to never, ever ask a favor of you again." 

"Oh, this isn't just about me. This is about getting to the truth."

"Yeah, well, the last girl who knew the truth ended up as target practice for someone's eye laser.

Chloe smirks and glances at another dancer behind her. She smiles politely, "Howdy. You know, my friends really excited about working here, but I think it's kinda dangerous. Especially after that girl was killed and everything."

The woman tenses and looks around cautiously, "How can I explain this to you? Don't talk to me. Don't talk to any of us."

Chloe watches the panicked girl leave when Lois clears her throat, "Well? What do you think?"

Chloe turns and her eyes go wide in astonishment and hilarity. She shakes her head in disbelief as she comments through chuckles, "All I can say is…God bless America."

**********

Clark walks into the Windgate and looks around. A man walks to him, "Good evening. Is this your first time at the Windgate?"

He nods and holds up the pass, "Yeah, Lex Luthor referred me."

The host looks at the pass and nods, "Will Mr. Luthor be joining you this evening?"

"No, uh, I'm meeting Jack Jennings."

"The Senator? Let me show you to his usual table." Clark frowns at the revelation.

**********

Lois looks out the curtain and pales as she turns around hastily, "Uh, on second thought…"

Chloe stops her from leaving, "No, no, no, no, and no. Thinking bad; dancing good. Just ask Mr. Shoot-First-Think-Later over there." Lois glances over and pales at seeing the gunman. "Now I need you to dig down and find your inner Demi Moore. Okay?"

She gives in. "Okay. You better at least use this diversion to find something about Melissa."

********

The host takes Clark to a table toward the front and pulls out the chair, "Here you go."

Clark nods politely, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a good evening."

Clark glances around the club getting an idea of the place. He's interrupted when a waitress comes up, "Hey handsome, what can I get for you?"

Clark replies, "I'll have a coke." He sees the woman look confused and he tries to cover, "S-straight up, on the rocks."

She answers uncertainly, "Okay." She leaves and Clark takes a breath to calm down.

Clark looks up at the stage as the announcer comes over the speakers, "Gentleman lets give Colette a nice au revoir." The crowd loudly expresses their appreciation for the blonde woman exiting the stage. "And now, making her first Windgate appearance, welcome to the stage, all American-girl… Amber Waves."

Clark glances over as a woman comes out in low cut blue jeans and an American flag blouse. The woman takes off a pair of sunglasses and Clark stares at her in horror.

**

Chloe is back stage looking around when she sniffs the air. Her expression turns confused and she walks toward the stage curtain. She discreetly looks through the curtain and her eyes widen in shock at seeing Clark in the audience. She sees the looks of horror on his face and realizes he's spotted Lois. She glances over and judging from the scent from Lois, she was just as freaked out. Biting her lip to keep from cracking up, she walks from the stage.

**

Lois hurries to Clark's table as the announcer is continuing, "I'd salute to that anytime. Let's give it up for our red-blooded recruit. And now, let's give a good home grown welcome to Dixie."

She sits down in Clarks lap, causing him to flinch in discomfort, "_What_ are you doing here?"

He snaps back, "What are _you_ doing here?"

She retorts, "Its Chloe's fault. We're following a murder story."

He scoffs, "Well that makes three of us, but I think I'll stick to my method." He squirms as she shifts her body to get a better seat.

She glances at a guard nearby, "You know, you're gonna get me fired if you keep looking at me like I'm Jabba the Hutt."

He asks panicky, "What do you want me to do?"

She rolls her eyes, "Oh, uh…I don't know. Give me a twenty and meet us out back."

He quickly pulls out a bill and looks down at her bra, trying to put it somewhere, "Uh…"

She rolls her eyes again and grabs the twenty. She stands and saunters out of the room. Clark relaxes and glances over to see a man talking with the manger. He tilts his head and focuses in, _"Bravo, that new girl. Who is she?"_

"_I don't know; she's new here. For 500k, you know I don't ask any questions of my girls."_

"_And for that much you better not answer any, either."_

Clark flinches when a bang goes off and the lights go on full. He looks over as a group of cops led by Detective Sawyer storm the club.

"Everybody freeze!"

Sawyer announces, "Metropolis P.D. Everybody take it easy. We have a report of minors working and being served in this establishment. We will be interviewing you individually."

**

Lois is trying to leave when Mr. Lyon, the man who spoke to the manager, grabs her hand and advises, "C'mon!"

She hesitates, "What?"

He urges, "Do you want to stick around and get arrested? Come on." She nods and quickly follows him out a side door.

**

Clark feels a hand grab his shoulder and he glances over as Sawyer comments sternly, "Really wrong time, and really wrong place kid." She turns him around and slaps handcuffs on him as Clark swallows nervously, "You're under arrest."

She hands him to a deputy as the manager storms up to Sawyer, "What is this about?"

"We had an anonymous tip that a car involved in a hit-and-run last night was seen leaving your establishment."

He starts, "You can't just arrest…"

Sawyer snaps annoyed, "The city's looked the other way because your clientele can pull a lot of strings. Now I've got a dead 19-year old on my hands. I gotta go by the book." She turns to the crowd and informs them, "Okay, people, listen up. I know its 5:00 in the morning. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you."

"All right, ladies." A cop begins directing the dancers to the lobby and Chloe spots Clark.

She looks worried, "Clark, where's Lois?"

He returns her look, "I don't know. I thought she was with you?"

Clark is pulled away by the cops. Chloe glances around and sees the detective walk to the bouncer and listens in, _"Just what do you wanna know? Maybe I can help you."_

"_You're the bouncer. You know everything that goes on in this place."_

"_Cut me a deal."_

"_Tell me about Jennings."_ Chloe looks alarmed and thinks, 'Jack Jennings is involved with this?'

"_He was drunk. I took him home. He had nothing to do with the girl. He's innocent."_

She sighs relieved and looks over at Clark, and eyes him questioningly. With a relieved look, he nods at her. After the dancers are questioned, the police herd them back into the dressing rooms.

***

Chloe is holding up a pair of angel wings and comments to a woman nearby amazed, "Wow, these are, um. They're heavier than they look."

She chuckles, "They're way better than the heels, trust me."

She puts the wings down and asks casually, "So, you guys must have been pretty close with Melissa huh?" The woman loses her smile and begins to leave. Chloe speaks quickly, "Uh, sorry, premature segway. But c'mon, we're obviously on the same side here. I just wanna know what happened to her."

"It's a tragedy, is what it is. She finally gets her shot at Prince Charming, and wham. Bye-bye ivory tower."

"Are you talking about the Senator?"

Another woman speaks up, "No way. The only thing he did wrong was fall for her."

The first woman explains, "There's this suave guy. Kinda euro looking."

Chloe looks intrigued, "But now what did he want with Melissa?"

"Every few months he picks some lucky girl and takes her out of this dump."

"Probably to some tropical island somewhere."

Chloe jumps when a whip cracks the air, "You know why they invented fairy tales? Because no one wants to face reality. All we know is that the girls disappear and then no one ever sees them again. Somebody should've warned your friend about that."

Chloe's face darkens, "Lois?"

"Yeah, I saw her leave with him during the raid."

Chloe forces herself to relax when Sawyer suddenly cuts in, "Sullivan. Let's go. You can thank Lex Luthor for some very generous phone calls." She follows the detective to where Clark is being uncuffed.

She informs her, "Detective Sawyer, I think the guy that had Melissa Page killed has my cousin."

Clark tells them, "It's the same guy who made some deal with the club owner just before he vanished."

The detective raises an eyebrow and asks, "You know this guys name?" Clark swallows nervously and shrugs. Sawyer sighs, "Ok, so let me see if I understand you. Your cousin, who I am assuming is underage, was stripping and making deals with wealthy patrons, managed to escape a police raid."

"It's not like that."

Chloe confirms, "Yeah, she was just helping me to investigate."

"Investigate? Okay, Luthor may have pulled a get-out-of-jail-free card for you this time but it will not happen again." She eyes them sternly, "If you wanna play Nancy Drew and Hardy boy, do it in someone else's precinct."

**********

Mr. Lyon and Lois enter a well adorned Penthouse, "Nice place you got."

He smiles, "Thank you."

"Well, thanks for helping me out back there."

"My pleasure." Lois tense slightly as he slowly takes off her jacket. He walks to a closet and comments, "I think I have something a little more your size." He takes out a red dress and offers it to her. He gestures to a changing wall, "I won't peek, I promise." She hurries over and starts to put it on. Lyon asks slyly, "You want me to help you tie it?"

She replies stiffly, "Oh, oh no, that's fine. I've almost got it." She walks out and blinks in surprise as he takes a picture of her in it, "Wow. Whatcha doing there?"

He smiles broadly, "It looks so much better on you than any of the others. You're going to make them very jealous."

She smiles tightly and suggests, "You know, I think I'm just gonna call a cab."

He states casually, "Think of your taxi days as a thing of the past. You have a whole new life ahead of you now."

She glares, "Look, I don't know what kind of kink you're into, but… you are seriously behind on your Gloria Steinem." She moves to hit him, but stops in her tracks as the assassin suddenly appears in front of her.

Lyon states, "I found it best to guarantee my safety." The mutant taps the flat of a blade against her forehead, knocking her unconscious.

*******

Chloe is hurrying to her desk as she rehashes, "So the owner of the Windgate is selling his strippers to the highest bidder?"

Clark nods, "Its Kansas. It's definitely not Smallville."

She puts down her purse and pulls out her camera, "Five-hundred grand for a massage with benefits seems like a lot. Do you know anything else?"

"Just that the bouncer told Detective Sawyer that the guy was the son of some foreign diplomat."

She nods hopefully, "Then he'd have diplomatic plates." She smirks at Clark and mock glares, "See, while you were inside checking out the entertainment, I was out in the parking lot taking shots of the license plates of all the cars. Here we go."

They glance through and Clark points out, "Okay, check that one."

Chloe looks upset, "That's the UN tower."

***

At the Tower, Lyon is having Lois loaded into the back seat of a helicopter.

***

Clark speeds them into Lyon's suite. Chloe glances around panicked, "Lois?!"

Clark comments, "He's got Lois." He sees a computer by the wall, "Any psychic guess on this guy's computer password?"

She scoffs, "Oh, God, don't even try. He's probably got like a zillion layers of security on it."

He looks at the flashing light on the printer, "They must have just left. The printer's still on."

"Try pressing print again."

He does and he picks it up alarmed, "It's a fake passport for Lois. You think they're gonna try and smuggle her out of the country?"

Chloe's eyes flash an angry orange, "If he does, I doubt he'll live to his next birthday."

Clark reasons, "I doubt Lois would go quietly. That would mean they wouldn't go out the lobby."

Chloe's head whips around as she sniffs the room. After a second, she snaps her gaze at the ceiling. She growls and bolts for the stairwell, "Kal-El, get to the roof!"

Clark speeds to the roof just as the helicopter is lifting off. He glances around quickly and sees a steel cable. He grabs it and leaps toward the chopper. He hook the cable around the landing struts and falls back down.

"We're stuck on something!"

Clark yanks the cable and the chopper plummets toward the ground, where Clark grabs the bottom, bringing it to a halt. He looks to the stairs as Chloe comes out. She hurries up and glances at Lois in the back seat, struggling with Lyon. She glances at Clark, "She doesn't know about you. Let's keep it that way."

He nods and speeds away. Chloe pulls open the door and yanks Lyon off Lois and tosses him to the ground roughly. Lois smirks, "Hey, kitty, nice of you to show up."

She rolls her eyes, "I'll start assuming that means thank you." As Lyon eyes the cable in confusion, she shrugs, "Looks like it got caught on the cable."

They all turn to the stairs as Sawyer and a group of cops are approaching quickly. Lois pushes Lyon forward roughly, "This scum-bag was about to air-cargo me to the honey moon suite at the Grope-a-cabana."

She nods, "I'm glad you're all right." She sighs reluctantly, "Now, if you will release him, I'm afraid Mr. Lyon is free to go."

Chloe looks outraged and protests, "What? You can't just let him walk away!"

The diplomat smirks at the two women, "Diplomatic immunity."

Lois sighs in resignation, while Chloe's teeth are bared in a silent growl. Sawyer explains, "As a consulate guest in our country, Mr. Lyon can't be arrested or tried for any crime he commits on our soil. Even murder. I'm sorry. I can't touch him."

Chloe smiles evilly, "Well, I can." She rotates on her leg and brings her left knee up to his groin, causing him to gasp loudly and collapse to his knees. She pretends to be concerned, "Whoops. Don't know my own strength."

Lois and Sawyer flinch as Lyon's bodyguards help him to the chopper. Sawyer tells them, "Some people live above the rules. Guess what? That's life in Metropolis. You want justice…I suggest you stay a little closer to home."

********

Lex glances over as Clark walks in and says to an advisor, "We'll finish this later." The man nods and leaves.

Clark looks sincerely at Lex, "I just wanna say thank you."

Lex smirks as folds his arms, "You know, when I asked you to stay out of trouble, I kinda, uh, thought that might include being caught underage at a strip club, using my membership while I'm gearing up for a political campaign."

He explains, "I didn't mean to drag you into this."

Lex shakes his head, "Come on Clark. Who are you kidding? You had me masterminding this whole Jennings plot before you walked through those doors."

Clark reasons, "I didn't think he was lying to me."

"But you assumed I would."

Clark looks guilty, "I can't believe that I looked up to Jack."

Lex sighs and asks, "Tell me what you remember about Kind David." Clark raises a confused eyebrow, "Humor me."

He thinks, "Kind David… slew Goliath, saved his people."

"And afterward he saw a beautiful woman bathing and fell madly in love. The problem was, she turned out to be his best friend's wife. So you know what are great hero did? He sent his best friend off to die in battle so he could have her to himself. "

Clark states solemnly, "Kind of leave that part out, don't they?"

"We all need to believe in heroes, Clark. And even the best ones are far from perfect."

***********

Clark walks into the kitchen and sees Jack hang up the phone. "Surprised to see your car out front. I thought that you'd be gone now that you're clear of murder."

"I've been mulling over some pretty tough decisions. This seemed like a good place to get my bearings again."

"Have you talked to my Dad yet?"

He scoffs, "I'd say he did most of the talking. After 20 years, the man's still got a hell of a knack for the guilt trip, doesn't he?"

"Usually works 'cause he's right."

Jack sighs, "Your fathers always had some pretty high expectations of the people around him. He's the one man I never wanted to disappoint."

"You should try being his son. The thing I always try to remember is, no matter how much he lays on…he never expects more than he expects of himself."

"You think your Dad will ever forgive me?"

Clark smiles, "Well, I've given him a lot of trial runs in the forgiveness arena. Look, I know my Dad's friendship means a lot to you. But there are a lot of other people out there who look up to you."

"I guess you can only pull of the disguise of being superhuman for so long, huh?"

"What are you gonna do?"

"I've called a press conference. I'm pulling out of the race." Clark looks troubled when he hears that.

**********

Jonathan glances at Jack walking in, "Going back to the city, facing all those reporters takes a lot of guts."

He jibes, "After facing you, live feeds and blood-thirst journalists are a walk in the park."

Jonathan tells him, "Look, if we let a couple of rough days destroy over 25 years of friendship, then I guess we weren't as good as friends as I thought we were. Jack, if you're pulling out of this race because your old buddy can't seem to climb off of his pulpit, that's not what I want at all. All I really ask is that you be honest.

"I'm pulling out of the race because I'm no longer the best man for the job."

"Are you sure? If you wanna hang in there and fight, I'll be right behind you hundred percent."

"I know. But all those things you said about me being loyal, and trustworthy and willing to take on the Luthor's of the world. I might have been that man once, but I have to step aside when I see somebody who still embodies all those qualities."

He looks disbelieving, "Jack, you can't seriously be talking about Lex Luthor."

"I'm talking about you, Jon. Kansas could use a senator like you. You should think about it."

*******

Clark glances at Lois carrying a box of her clothes and announces, "Hey, Smallville. Your personal space is about to be reinstated."

He asks shocked, "What are you doing, you just moved back in?"

She shrugs, "Well, now that Lana's over at MetU, I'm taking the place."

He asks sarcastically, "Is there anything I can do to make this move go faster? Maybe pack your three closets of clothing. Maybe burn your loofa sponge, take your Whitesnake collection to Goodwill?"

She smirks and shoves the box at him, "You can take this." She turns to leave and calls back, "Come on, Smallville, move it."

******

Chloe rushes up the stairs to the apartment and tells them, "Okay, before I start any of the real heavy lifting, you have to indulge me for just a moment in my first Daily Planet byline."

Clark smiles as he looks over the page and doesn't find it. She smiles, "It's not exactly the Torch, Clark. Page 73. At the bottom."

The two of them speak together, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, well you deserve half the credit. I mean, I'd still be playing point guard at the pet obituary hotline if it weren't for the two of you."

Clark looks surprised, "Well, here it says Interpol was able to arrest him due to an anonymous tip."

She smiles innocently, "About that heavy lifting…" She leaves to the room to get a box.

Lois looks at Clark, "Smallville, Chloe let me in on the big secret."

He looked shocked, "She did?"

She cuts him, "I'm not great at this, so just keep your mouth shut and listen up. Even though Chloe took charge on the helicopter, it's really nice for you to give her backup. You didn't have to come after me with her, but you always do. So I wanted to say thank you. You're really good for her; and you're a good friend."

She goes to unpack but turns back to him warningly, "Oh, and, uh, about the lap dance. If you decide to tell anybody about it, your Elmur Fudd night light will make a very public appearance."

He smirks and turns to leave, "Aye-aye…sailor."

********

**An hour later**

Chloe exited the elevator and walked over to her desk and put down her things. She went to power it up but stopped short when she saw it was already on. She tilted her head confused, but shook it off. She opened the folder on Victor Creed she had started and froze. She grew alarmed; all the files were gone. She cursed under her breath and pulled open the middle drawer and looked around frantically. She looked through every drawer, going more panicked. The backup CDs were also all missing. She whispered, "Oh, man. Logan is going to kill me."

A rough voice commented wryly, "Logan ain't got the guts to kill, especially not a number like you." Chloe leapt to her feet and spun toward the source of the voice. She detected a hint of admiration as the voice commented, "Good reflexes. Impressive."

Chloe glared into the darkened back area and sniffed. She smirked slightly, "Logan has been looking for you, Victor."

He smirks, "In the flesh." He tosses something at Chloe's feet. She sighs flatly at seeing the CD's shredded to pieces. "What is it they say about cats?"

Chloe tensed and discreetly extended her claws. "Well, when Logan wants something, he can be pretty persistent."

Victor tilts his head and extends his claws in a non discreet way. "If you want to tussle, just say so."

She lifts her head, "It wouldn't look good to my boss if I trash the office; so unless you start it, I won't be making any movements."

He smirked, "Smart girl."

She glared, "I assume you came to do more than make small talk, Creed. What do you want?"

"I want to let you know to stop looking. Jimmy lost a lot more than just his memory on that island." Victor pauses and Chloe waits intrigued, "I was greedy. I wanted what he had; what always came so easy to him. I wanted his strength so badly, I destroyed him."

Chloe tilts her head slightly confused, "Victor, Stryker put the adamantium in Logan and wiped his memory, not you."

Victor clarified, "The skeletal grafting didn't take his memory. Stryker did that with two bullets to Jimmy's brain. The Wolverine woke up and my brother was gone."

Chloe looked concerned, "Victor, I can't just sit on this information. I owe Logan more than that. I am going to tell him."

Victor looked annoyed, "I know." He looked away, "But don't tell him about the Island. The things I did."

She heard him hesitate and looked at him, "You feel guilty about what happened."

Victor bared his teeth, "Don't patronize me, infant!"

She held up her hands in surrender, "I'm not, Victor." She stated sincerely, "Maybe Victor Creed is more than just Sabretooth."

Victor scoffed and handed her a disc. "This is my biography. I would have given you Jimmy's but somehow a trip into a cave did it for him."

Chloe pressed, "Well, you do know about his life after Vietnam. You could tell him about it."

She frowned as Victor's face fell. He spoke softly, "Its better that he not know yet. I hurt him in a way no brother should have. Maybe after we are reunited and we get to know each other again I can. But right now, it's not possible."

Chloe asked softly, "Why don't you let him decide for himself?"

Victor replied as he turned to leave, "Because I'm his older brother. I have to look out for him."

Chloe called out, "At least tell me her name."

Victor stopped and turned back slightly. After a minute, he replied, "Kyla Frost." With that, he disappeared into the shadows.

Chloe waited for a minute as she processed their conversation. She went to the computer and put in the disc. A file opened with pages of text describing Victor's life and personality. She picked up her phone and dialed the Mansion. She smiled as Jones answered, "Hello?"

She said warmly, "Hello, Jones, its Chloe. I hope you're having a fun night."

He replied, "Yeah, just reviewing the videos of WW2 for History tomorrow."

She smirked, "Sound fun." She asked seriously, "Hey, I know its late, but I need to talk to Jim…" She stopped herself, "Logan. I have some information for him."

The young mutant excused himself and after a minute, Logan's tired voice came on the line, "Hello?"

She grew serious, "Logan, I have something you may want to see. Are you near a computer?" She put the file in an email message and sent it. "I'm emailing you a file."

She waited as he looked it up. after a few minutes, his stunned voice asked anxiously, "Chloe, where did you find this?"

She bit her lip, "Let's just say I had a visitor earlier tonight."

Logan sounded panicked, "You saw him? is he still there?"

She swallowed sadly, "Unfortunately, no. I tried to convince him to stay, but he didn't agree to."

Logan scoffed in disappointment, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to wait until he's ready." He was silent for a couple minutes, "Did he tell you anything else about my life after 1960?"

She thought about the woman Victor had mentioned and she sighed in resignation. She replied softly, "No, Logan. He only told me about his biography. I'm sorry I couldn't find out more."

Logan sighed and told her, "Well, this is more than I had hoped for, Chloe. Thank you."

Chloe forced a smile, "You're welcome, old man. I'll keep digging for you."

He hung up and she inhaled deeply. She sat for a minute thinking to herself. She typed in the woman's name and looked over the search results. Her stomach knotted in disbelief and horror when she looked over the page. She quickly closed the window and a tear ran down her face.


End file.
